SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador—Tiny and impoverished El Salvador’s move to become the first country in the world to adopt bitcoin as legal tender got o

El Salvador Becomes First Country to Adopt Bitcoin as National Currency

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2021-09-09 13:30:09

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador—Tiny and impoverished El Salvador’s move to become the first country in the world to adopt bitcoin as legal tender got off to a bumpy start, as the government took its bitcoin e-wallet offline for several hours after tens of thousands of people tried to download the app, overloading servers.

The administration of President Nayib Bukele, 40, plans to spend more than $225 million on the rollout, including a $30 credit in bitcoin to those who take up Chivo—local slang for “cool”—the government-run e-wallet that can be used for purchases in bitcoin or U.S. dollars.

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