The government of El Salvador has launched a campaign to promote their Chivo Bitcoin (BTC) wallet – allowing citizens and businesses using the app to buy fuel at a discounted price as global prices rise.
President Nayib Bukele announced that Chivo operators had negotiated a deal with two fuel distribution companies, meaning Chivo users could receive a $0.20 Per gallon discount at gas stations across the country.
Bukele wrote that the “state-owned company Chivo” had “negotiated with the largest gas station companies in the country” and that the move would “mitigate several increases in the international price of fuel.”
The President continued that the discount would have “no limit” and would apply not only to individuals, but also to operators of public transport”entrepreneurs and all companies.” The discount is valid from September 30 to October 14, he explained.
The mouthpiece of the government of Diario El Salvador reported that “taxi drivers, Uber and inDriver drivers, public transport, school transport companies, private motorcyclists, couriers, private vehicles, delivery drivers, travelers and goods dealers” benefited.
The president added that the move would also “reduce transportation costs in supply chains.”
Fuel prices are on the rise globally and in recent days shortages have been reported around the world disrupting nations as far away as the UK and Brazil. According to Bloomberg data, Brent crude oil prices are peaking at levels not seen since the end of 2018, while natural gas prices have also risen.
Reported that the international picture “will push up gasoline and diesel prices in the nation,” and noted that this year alone “there have been at least 15 increases in fuel prices and only three declines.”
But mainstream media continue to report that many in the nation are still struggling to come to terms with Bitcoin adoption after the token became legal tender alongside the USD on Sept.
Reuters quoted Jean-Paul Lam, an associate professor at the Canadian University of Waterloo, as saying:
“Bitcoin is not an easy technology to adopt.] Especially for old people who want to receive remittances. It will face many obstacles when it comes to getting people to adopt it. However, Lam acknowledged that other nations are likely to keep an eye on events in the Central American nation, describing Bukele’s BTC plans as a “small laboratory experiment that other countries are watching.”