chivo

Chivo Wallet is a government-backed digital wallet launched by El Salvador in September 2021 alongside the country’s adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender. It launched with a $30 sign-up bonus in Bitcoin for early adopters. The wallet supports Bitcoin mainchain and Lightning Network transactions via River Financial infrastructure. Users can hold and transact in both Bitcoin and U.S. dollars and convert freely between the two at no fee.

Chivo is available on iOS, Android, and Huawei via their official app stores. Setup requires a government ID scan and facial recognition. Key features include fee-free BTC and USD transfers, instant BTC-to-USD conversion, cash deposits and withdrawals at Chivo ATMs, banking system integration, and a business edition for payroll and tax payments.

Adoption remained low despite the government push. Users reported account failures, frozen funds, and identity theft incidents from launch. By 2024, surveys found around 92% of Salvadorans were not using Bitcoin for everyday transactions, and crypto’s share of cross-border remittances stayed below 2%.

In January 2025, El Salvador amended its Bitcoin Law as a condition of a $1.4 billion IMF loan, removing Bitcoin’s legal tender status and making merchant acceptance voluntary. The government also committed to winding down its Chivo involvement. As of late 2025, the IMF confirmed that negotiations to sell Chivo to a private operator were well advanced. Private Lightning wallets continue to operate in El Salvador independently.

Chivo supports Bitcoin (BTC) on-chain and via the Lightning Network, plus U.S. dollars. No other cryptocurrencies or blockchains are supported.