the government says it s confident in its long term plan. in fact, president bukele is doubling down bitcoin. he s planning to build a state of the art city shrine to cryptocurrency, but the project is months behind schedule and has not yet been paid for. i m joined now by kate baucherel, cryptocurrency expert and author. thank you for being with us. does this show you it has been a bit of a disaster in el salvador, investing so heavily in bitcoin? i disaster in el salvador, investing so heavily in bitcoin? disaster in el salvador, investing so heavily in bitcoin? i don t think so. the intentions so heavily in bitcoin? i don t think so. the intentions behind - so heavily in bitcoin? i don t think so. the intentions behind it - so heavily in bitcoin? i don t think so. the intentions behind it havel so. the intentions behind it have
the slump in digital currencies has continued, with bitcoin falling close to $20,000 dollars on wednesday, before recovering slightly. bitcoin has now lost 70% of its value since its record high back in november. the crash is being felt in the central american nation of el salvador, which has poured millions of dollars into bitcoin and encouraged citizens to use it for everyday transactions. joe tidy reports. it s hard to get an appointment in el salvador s newly opened pet hospital. the reason, animals are given all the care they need forjust 25 cents. the only catch, it has to be paid for with bitcoin.
the pet hospital is the latest idea from the government to get people to embrace bitcoin. it s been nine months since the country s cryptocurrency loving president made bitcoin an officially legal tender alongside the us dollar. acceptande coin? si. many businesses now accept this digital currency, that started on niche internet forums. the novelty has created an uptick in so called bitcoin tourists, and the idea is spreading. the central african republic has also made bitcoin legal tender. for el salvador, bitcoin take up is being led by a highly marketed and heavily subsidised app called chivo. everyone in this poor central american country gets $30 of bitcoin free just for signing up. gilberto sandoval is accepting money from his sister in guatemala through the app. it s saving him a fortune in cross border fees.
been quite sound and quite interesting. been quite sound and quite interesting. been quite sound and quite interestini. , ., , ., interesting. 0k, tell us a bit more what were interesting. 0k, tell us a bit more what were the interesting. 0k, tell us a bit more what were the intentions - interesting. 0k, tell us a bit more what were the intentions why - interesting. 0k, tell us a bit more what were the intentions why is i interesting. 0k, tell us a bit more what were the intentions why is it| what were the intentions why is it still a good idea? it’s what were the intentions why is it still a good idea? what were the intentions why is it still a good idea? it s more. the actual adoption still a good idea? it s more. the actual adoption of still a good idea? it s more. the actual adoption of bitcoin - still a good idea? it s more. the actual adoption of bitcoin is - actual adoption of bitcoin is controversial but it s interesting to see. el salvador doesn t have its own curr
fast rise to it, and overall, the trend in terms of value is generally upwards. the central african republic system an interesting one, because they have very low internet adoption, around 7% of the population has online access, so i don t see how digital currency is going to work well there in any way. but the point with the start at el salvador say start of the closed ecosystem, so there wasn t any conversion backwards and forwards between bitcoin and dollars, they were just paying each other in bitcoin like cowrie shells, in the old days. bitcoin like cowrie shells, in the old da s. ., ., bitcoin like cowrie shells, in the old da s. ., ,, bitcoin like cowrie shells, in the old da s. ., ~ , bitcoin like cowrie shells, in the oldda s. ., ,, , . bitcoin like cowrie shells, in the old da s. ., ., , . thank old days. thank you very much. thank ou. a new charity is being set up to look after service animals when they retire from active duty. the national foundation for retired service an