El Salvadors president Nayib Bukele has said that local consumers can benefit from a $0.20 per gallon reduction in petrol prices when paying using the Bitcoin wallet, Chivo. The president announced the subsidy through Twitter on Sept. 30.
The president emphasized that there is no limit to the discount and that any local person or company can access the rebate. He added that the discount will erase “several increases in the international price of fuels” and “reduce transportation costs in supply chains.”
Despite these developments some Salvadorans appear unconvinced that the subsidy ultimately benefits the public. Others were cynical of the government’s decision to offer the discount to only those who pay using Chivo, with Twitter accounts questioning why the administration did not move to offer relief on fuel prices at an earlier date.
Alongside the news that president also revealed that he has authorized a fund intended tostabiliz the domestic price of liquified gas. The president asserted that while the international market had planned a $1.17 rise in the price of 25-pound cylinders of liquefied gas, Salvadoran locals will experience a small reduction in cost.
El Salvador became the first country to legally recognize Bitcoin as legal tender and the president claimed that one-third of Salvadorans were already using Chivo less than three weeks after its launch. However, onlookers have expressed suspicion regarding Bukele’s reports of surging crypto adoption.
