El Salvador is planning to airdrop $30 in bitcoin to its citizens, the country’s president, Nayib Bukele, announced during a national address on Thursday.
El Salvador To Airdrop BTC
During his address, Bukele unveiled a bitcoin e-wallet dubbed Chivo — a slang word that means cool in Spanish — that will be preloaded with free $30 BTC. He went on to give a tutorial on how to use Chivo. The government-issued crypto wallet will be available on both android and iOS for everyone to download.
Salvadorans will be gifted the $30 in bitcoin directly to their wallets once they verify their identity through the app’s face recognition and submit their phone numbers and their Unique Identity Documents (DUI).
If the airdrop is able to grab the attention of the approximately 4.5 million adult Salvadorans, the project could cost the government $100 million. In other words, the El Salvador government will be expected to buy $100 million worth of BTC which will be airdropped to the citizens.
Crypto pundits are suggesting that the entry of 4.5 million El Salvador citizens will boost bitcoin’s global user base by 2.5%.
Bukele also revealed that the app will be available everywhere with a cell connection. This means that Salvadorans won’t be obliged to have a cell plan for it. The app will also make it possible for users to trade bitcoin, as well as convert the crypto to dollars. Additionally, the app will use QR codes to let users send money and make payments.
El Salvador’s Bitcoin Law Will Come Into Effect On September 7
In his address, El Salvador president Bukele also announced that the bitcoin law, which recognizes bitcoin as the country’s legal tender alongside the U.S. dollar, will become effective on September 7.
As ZyCrypto previously reported, the revolutionary bill was passed by a supermajority in El Salvador’s parliament on June 9, with a whopping 62 members voting in favor of the bill.
Regarding the question of whether accepting bitcoin will be mandatory once the law takes effect, Bukele confirmed that “use of bitcoin will be optional, nobody will receive bitcoin if they don’t want it” and they can choose to receive U.S. dollars instead.
Despite the news of bitcoin adoption by El Salvador being welcomed warmly by bitcoiners, the country has experienced a lot of hostility. The World Bank recently turned down El Salvador’s request to assist with the implementation of the bitcoin program, while the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front opposition party initiated a complaint against the newly legislated law, arguing that it’s unconstitutional.
