Early stumble as El Salvador starts Bitcoin as currency

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — El Salvador became the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender Tuesday, but the rollout stumbled in its first hours and President Nayib Bukele said the digital wallet used for transactions was not functioning.

For part of the morning, El Salvador’s president became tech support for a nation stepping into the world of cryptocurrency. Bukele marshaled his Twitter account — with more than 2.8 million followers — to walk users through what was happening.

Bukele explained that the digital wallet Chivo had been disconnected while server capacity was increased.

The president said it was a relatively simple problem. “We prefer to correct it before we connect it again,” Bukele said. He encouraged followers to download the app and leave comments about how it was going.

Meanwhile, the value of Bitcoin plummeted early Tuesday, dropping from more than $52,000 per coin to $42,000, before recovering about half of that loss — an example of the volatility that worries many.

The government has promised to install 200 Chivo automatic tellers and 50 Bitcoin attention centers.

The Associated Press visited one of the automatic tellers in San Salvador’s historic center, where attendants waited to help citizens, who initially didn’t show much interest.

Asked if he had downloaded the Chivo app, Emanuel Ceballos, said he had not. “I don’t know if I’m going to do it, I still have doubts about using that currency.”

Jose Martin Tenorio said he was interested in Bitcoin, but had not downloaded the app either. “I’m running to work. Maybe at home tonight.”

In Santa Tecla, a San Salvador suburb, attendants were waiting to assist people at a help center.

Denis Rivera arrived with a friend because they had been trying to download the digital wallet app without success.

He said he didn’t understand why some people “have been scandalized” by Bitcoin. “We’ve been using debit and credit cards for years and it’s the same, electronic money,” he said.

He planned to use the $30 offered as an incentive to try it out. “I’m going to see how efficient it is and practical it can be and based on that decide if I keep using it or not.”

Jose Luis Hernandez, owner of a barbershop in the area, came looking for information.

“I have a small business and I want to know how to use the application and how are the rates and all of that,” Hernandez said.

The AP confirmed that at least three international fast food chain restaurants were accepting Bitcoin payments through the Chivo digital wallet.

David Gerard, author of “Attack of the 50 Foot Blockchain,” said Tuesday’s Bitcoin volatility likely had little to nothing to do with El Salvador. “My first guess was shenanigans, because it’s always shenanigans,” Gerard said via email.

“Bitcoin basically doesn’t respond to market forces or regulatory announcements,” Gerard said. “That sort of price pattern, where it crashes hugely in minutes then goes back up again, is usually one of the big guys burning the margin traders.”

Because Bitcoin is so thinly traded, it could also have been a big holder making a large sale to have cash, thus sending the market for a ride, Gerard said.

Three face-to-face public opinion surveys performed recently showed that most Salvadorans did not agree with the government’s decision to make Bitcoin legal currency. Bitcoin joins the U.S. dollar as El Salvador’s official currencies.

In June the Legislative Assembly enacted the Bitcoin law, and the Central American Bank for Economic Integration is providing the government with technical assistance.

The law says that Bitcoin can be used for any transaction and any business with the technological capacity to do so must accept payment in the cryptocurrency.