“Can a government-issued crypto wallet serve as the primary financial infrastructure for a dollarized economy with low banking penetration?”
Chivo Wallet was created in 2021 by the Government of El Salvador as the official wallet for the world's first Bitcoin legal tender experiment. Initially mandated for merchant acceptance and bootstrapped with $30 USD in BTC per registered user, the wallet attempted to bank the unbanked via crypto rails. After a 2024 IMF deal required El Salvador to scale back mandatory Bitcoin acceptance, the wallet transitioned to a more voluntary role. A major 2024 data breach eroded public trust, and the app has since operated with reduced prominence in national financial infrastructure.
Chivo Wallet is founded in 2021 and headquartered in San Salvador, El Salvador.
Chivo Wallet has raised Government-funded (no disclosed private rounds) in total.
Get a read on where your own stack stands against Chivo Wallet and the rest of its category — what they built versus bought, which providers they use, and where the gaps in your own strategy and competitive set actually are.