El Salvador Turns to the US-based AlphaPoint in Bid to Bolster its Chivo Bitcoin App

The Salvadoran government is attempting to reboot its Chivo bitcoin (BTC) app and wallet – by teaming up with the USA-based crypto firm AlphaPoint.

In an official notice, the government wrote that the firm was now “providing technology for Chivo Wallet, the first national digital wallet in the world.”

The Chivo app has been blighted by reports of glitches and fraudulent account opening attempts by scammers using identity theft tactics to claim the USD 30 worth of BTC offered as a golden hello to citizens opening a Chivo wallet.

AlphaPoint’s co-founder and CEO Igor Telyatnikov was quoted as stating that “El Salvador and President [Nayib] Bukele are truly leading the world with the adoption of bitcoin on a national scale. No one else has attempted to execute a project of this nature. We at AlphaPoint are honored to be involved in the process.” 

The firm says it will implement Lightning Network adoption on the Chivo app, and claims that the move would be the “first deployment of Lightning” at such a large scale. Lightning integration, the US-based company said, would provide “nearly instantaneous, low-fee bitcoin transactions” using QR codes and Lightning addresses.

In a press release shared with Cryptonews.com, the company said that it “supports the frontend and backend infrastructure that powers the wallet and integrates the entire ecosystem including the mobile application, mobile point-of-sale processing, merchant website portal, call-center support software and administrative console.”

The app’s build, it added, “focuses heavily on wallet stability and uptime, scalability and social impact.”

The move coincides with a drive that will see the Chivo operator roll out 1,500 bitcoin ATMs across El Salvador.

The latest move will also see AlphaPoint provide solutions for point-of-sale devices, as well as e-commerce and online payment solutions that encompass both private companies and government portals.

Indeed, it appears that AlphaPoint is the latest up-and-coming crypto firm to embrace Bukele’s bullish crypto plans – and is looking to set up shop in Bitcoin City. The latter is an ambitious project announced last year by Bukele, which will see the nation build a tax haven for international crypto firms – to be paid for using BTC-backed bonds.

Per its website, AlphaPoint is now “actively looking to fill several positions that will work on the ground with our team, the El Salvadorian government and various partners on this world-changing technology.”

The firm currently has posts open for a number of engineering roles based in “Central America,” writing:

“This is your opportunity to contribute to the infrastructure project to bring the 70% unbanked population of El Salvador into the global financial ecosystem.”

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Learn more:
– El Salvador Bitcoin App Should Have Been Audited Long Ago, Claims Ex-Central Bank Chief
– Cryptoverse Laughs Off IMF Bitcoin Threats to El Salvador With Memes, BTC Rises

– Lack of Transparency Blighting El Salvador’s Bitcoin Adoption, Critics Say
– Mainstream Analysts Pour Scorn on El Salvador’s Financial Plans and Bitcoin Intentions

– New El Salvador Laws Will Help Bitcoiners Who Want to Move to the Country, Says Gov’t
– Expat Salvadorans ‘Clash’ in LA Park over Bukele, Bitcoin