El Salvador president steps in to help citizens fix bitcoin issues

Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele stepped in to help bitcoin users encountering technical issues as the nation adopted the cryptocurrency as legal tender.

Bukele encouraged them to report any problems on his Twitter feed, adding that if they encounter the “currently under maintenance” flashed on their screens, they should close and restart the app.

The president has sent a stream of instructions via Twitter over the past 36 hours on how to download the government-backed Chivo app, which promises commission-free transactions.

At one time, Bukele also updated Salvadorans that the app, a digital wallet, was being disconnected a second time to improve user experience.

Michael Kamerman, chief executive of Scandinavian-owned fintech company Skilling, noted that any financial innovation of that magnitude would come with teething problems.

With El Salvador encountering numerous problems in adopting bitcoin as legal tender, the digital currency lost by 1.7 percent on Wednesday, closing at $46,000.

But a new cryptocurrency research team at Standard Chartered is bullish, predicting bitcoin to hit $100,000 by early next year and reach as much as $175,000 in the long term.