Problems continue to plague El Savador’s bitcoin rollout

By MARCOS ALEMÁN
Associated Press

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — One week after El Salvador became the first country to make bitcoin legal tender, problems continue to plague the system. El Salvador rolled out a digital wallet known as the “Chivo” on Sept. 8, but the system has often been down for maintenance. It may have been overloaded by the sheer number of Salvadorans looking to take advantage of the $30 bonus that the government put in each account to incentivize adoption. Still, users like street vendor César Estrada who were able to download the wallet have been unable to access the bitcoins.