As we know, cryptocurrency Bitcoin has been made legal tender by El Salvador, a central American country. It is populated by 6.5 million people. Its GDP stands at $27 billion. It has already accepted dollar as the official currency in 2001 to counter inflation. Thus it has two official currencies –Bitcoin and USD.

Its Bitcoin wallet is called Chivo. Every citizen has been allotted $30 worth of Bitcoin. These could be downloaded from Chivo to citizens’ wallets. It will facilitate adoption.

ATMs are enabled to convert dollars into Bitcoin.

There is resistance to this move in EL Salvador. Citizens are worried about the high volatility of cryptos.

Bitcoin will facilitate cross-border remittances, which are 20 per cent of El Salvador’s GDP. It will save the transaction costs.

Bitcoins are mined by solving complex math puzzles, and by verifying transactions on the blockchain. It requires great computing power and large amount of electricity to run these computers.

Every Bitcoin is unique. It becomes difficult to lend. It requires conversion to traditional currency, and converting back while serving the loan. There are massive risks of exchange rate.

It will be interesting to learn how cryptos work in day-to-day life. There are already 10 per cent of daily transactions in Bitcoin.

Each Bitcoin can be split up into fractions of one hundred million, each one being called a Satoshi. Each has a unique code.

It takes a long time to register and verify every transaction on the blockchain. It requires validation by multiple blockchain-watchers.

Both lack of understanding and lack of technology act as barriers to early adoption. Very few understand the working of Bitcoin. Many are against the adoption. Transactions happen only when there are smartphones. The penetration of smartphones must increase.

It is interesting to track the progress of adopting the Bitcoin.