El Salvador’s Legislative Assembly’s Finance Commission voted Monday to establish a $150 million Bitcoin trust to allow the conversion of Bitcoin for US dollars in El Salvador.
According to the national newspaper El Diario de Hoy, members of El Salvador’s Legislative Assembly’s Finance Commission decided Monday to establish a $150 million Bitcoin trust to ease the trading of Bitcoin and US dollars in El Salvador. El Salvador’s Minister of Economy, Mara Luisa Hayém Brevé, reportedly stated that the initial $150 million commitment may be increased.
“We have multiple teams on the ground demonstrating how to utilize the Chivo Wallet to the local populace. We have designed a user-friendly application,” the minister explained so that El Salvadorans can learn how to use Bitcoin.
Hayém Brevé also mentioned the anxiety and skepticism that certain members of the public have concerning Bitcoin, as evidenced by recent small protests. She said, however, that the financial world would be monitoring El Salvador closely in the coming weeks as the country becomes the first to adopt decentralized digital money.
Despite some reservations about the law’s mandatory nature, El Salvadorans will have the option of accepting and using the currency or the $30 worth of Bitcoin that would be provided to them commission-free. The $150 million Bitcoin Trust will assist those who are skeptical about the ground-breaking financial technology in continuing to trade in dollars.
Additionally, the legislature agreed to amend this year’s General State Budget in order to redirect a $500 million loan from the Central American Bank for Economic Integration. The $150 million to support Bitcoin transactions will be provided to and managed by the Development Bank of El Salvador from these monies (Bandesal).
Notably, $23.3 million of the monies will be used to construct Chivo ATMs and related infrastructure around the country. President Nayib Bukele reportedly promised an additional $30 million to incentivize individuals to learn how to utilize Chivo.
On September 7, one week from today, every resident in El Salvador will have access to $30 in Bitcoin via the government’s Chivo wallet app. Commission-free exchange of Bitcoin for dollars and acquisition of extra Bitcoin will be available through the new ATMs and app, and citizens will be able to lawfully accept Bitcoin as payment without incurring additional exchange fees.
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