El Salvador president announces infrastructure already being built ahead of country's Bitcoin adoption

Nayib Bukele, the president of El Salvador and the principal figure behind the country’s adoption of Bitcoin (BTC), said residents will have the opportunity to convert their crypto to fiat immediately after Bitcoin is recognized as legal tender.  In a Sunday announcement on Twitter, Bukele said 4.5 million adults in El Salvador would have the option of HODLing their Bitcoin once the country officially accepted the cryptocurrency as legal tender or “withdraw[ing] it in cash at any of the 200 ATMs.” According to the El Salvador president, there will also be 50 branches capable of withdrawing or depositing fiat for residents to hold crypto or immediately liquidate their salaries. Bukele previously said that the government would be building the infrastructure to support a state-issued Bitcoin wallet, called Chivo. The president claimed that “Chivo ATMs” will eventually be “everywhere” and allow El Salvadorans to withdraw cash 24 hours a day without paying commissions on their holdings, but no one will be forced to use them.