Several users replied in his comments section to report ongoing installation problems.
Douglas Rodriguez,head of El Salvador’s central bank,said during an event in the Honduran capital Tegucigalpa that the “eyes of the world” were on his country and that the bitcoin adoption was a process that needed time to “mature”.
Addressing concerns the digital currency could encourage illicit activity,Rodriguez said the rules set out by the bank for using bitcoin were designed to meet money laundering standards and were well received by international authorities.
El Salvador’s bitcoin law states the market will establish the exchange rate between the crytpocurrency and the US dollar,the nation’s other legal tender. It says all prices may be expressed in bitcoin and tax contributions can be paid in digital currency,while currency transactions in bitcoin are not subject to capital gains taxes.
Notwithstanding technical hiccups,the app’s rollout created some waves in El Salvador,in part due to a government handout of $US30 in bitcoin to every local user who signs up,and despite polls that show many people are wary of bitcoin’s volatility.
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On the El Salvador edition of Apple’s App Store,Chivo was the No. 1 downloaded financial app on Wednesday.
Bukele earlier said only a few phone models would initially have access to the app on Alphabet’s Google Play to avoid a rush that could collapse the system.
On Wednesday afternoon,he wrote on Twitter that Google Play was available for Alcatel smartphones and that more models would be added,though it was important “not to saturate the servers” with too many registrations at the same time.
“We are still fine-tuning small details,” he said.
Reuters could not immediately determine how many times the app had been downloaded.
Global retailers operating in El Salvador were accepting bitcoin at some stores,including McDonald’s Corp and Starbucks Corp,along with several local outlets.
Bukele,40,who is doing well in opinion polls but has been accused of eroding democracy is a heavy user of social media to govern and engage with the population.
Reuters