El Salvador’s Bitcoin Bet Promised a Future That Never Came?
In El Salvador, the Bitcoin bet changed course before it could deliver the promised financial revolution. In 2025, a legal reform made it voluntary for businesses to accept Bitcoin and limited the public sector’s involvement. In 2026, the government transferred majority ownership and operational control of Chivo Wallet, the digital wallet created to promote Bitcoin […]
Five years after El Salvador's Bitcoin bet, its everyday use remains limited. Nayib Bukele's government had promoted Bitcoin to facilitate payments, improve financial services, lower remittance costs, and draw investment. Yet, in 2025, the latest available survey showed that most people did not use Bitcoin for transactions. Although remittances sent via cryptocurrency wallets had increased, they contributed less than 1% of the total received by the country.
The government's legal reform made Bitcoin voluntary for businesses to accept but transferred control of the digital wallet, Chivo, to a private operator. While Bitcoin remained available, it no longer fulfilled the original plan's role.
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