El Salvador President Announces Bitcoin Airdrop Program for Citizens

El Salvador the first country to make Bitcoin a legal tender on June 9 is all set to airdrop bitcoin for citizens to promote its use. President Nayib Bukele in a state address announced they would be airdropping $30 worth of Bitcoin for every registered user in association with a mobile wallet service provider Chivo.

👋🏼 https://t.co/ljgzn8DFXg

— Nayib Bukele 🇸🇻 (@nayibbukele) June 25, 2021

The president in his address informed that the government is working with major cell phone operators to offer a national bitcoin wallet option.  The airdrop program is a central part of Salvador’s Bitcoin adoption scheme as more than 70% of the country’s population has no access to banking facilities. All the registered users would receive $30 worth of BTC which can be easily used via mobile phones without the need for a bank account.

Bitcoin Law Will Come Into Effect From September 7

Apart from the Bitcoin airdrop the President also revealed the new Bitcoin Law would come into effect from September 7. The announcement was made along with the state address where the president explained extensively how the new national wallet program would work.

Earlier Salvador has contacted World Bank to help it with the technical aspects of implementing Bitcoin as a legal tender but was denied any support. However, CABEI promised to assist the Central American nation with its new legal tender implementation.

Bukele has been at the forefront of Bitcoin adoption for the country and believes the decentralized asset could lift the country out of financial misery. Apart from the airdrop program and installation of new Bitcoin ATMs, the President is working towards making the small country a hub for clean Bitcoin mining. Salvador’s Bitcoin mining operations would be powered by volcanic geothermal energy with 0% emissions.

About Author

An engineering graduate, Prashant focuses on UK and Indian markets. As a crypto-journalist, his interests lie in blockchain technology adoption across emerging economies.

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