Are cryptocurrencies currencies? Bitcoin as legal tender in El Salvador.
cross_sectional · Level IV
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 38127756.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1126/science.add2844.
- No licence information is recorded for this record.
- Because redistribution is not established, this page shows the abstract only. Follow the links below for the full text.
Abstract
A currency's essential feature is to be a medium of exchange. This study explores the potential of cryptocurrencies to be used in daily transactions in El Salvador, the first country to make bitcoin legal tender. The government's "big push" introduced "Chivo Wallet," a digital wallet sharing features with Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), with perks to use it for trading bitcoins and US dollars. Through a nationally representative, face-to-face survey of 1800 households and blockchain data encompassing all Chivo Wallet transactions, we document a pattern of low and decreasing usage of digital payments and bitcoin. Privacy and security concerns are key adoption barriers, which speaks to a policy debate on crypto and CBDCs with anonymity at its core. Additionally, we estimate Chivo Wallet's adoption cost and complementarities among adopters.