Episode 46: A First Look at the Chivo App
Ep. 46

Episode 46: A First Look at the Chivo App

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Episode description

In this episode of Bitcoin, Explained (formerly known as The Van Wirdum Sjorsnado) hosts Aaron van Wirdum and Sjors Provoost discuss the Chivo application, the Bitcoin wallet, and payment terminal provided by the government of El Salvador. This episode is a little bit different from other episodes of Bitcoin, Explained, because the Chivo app is closed source software. Instead of analyzing the source code and design of the application, Aaron and Sjors have to rely on Aaron’s personal experience with the wallet and payment terminal or what he remembers of that personal experience. The episode opens with some general information about the Chivo Wallet, like why it was developed and who developed it (insofar anything is known about that). Aaron and Sjors go on to discuss Aaron’s experiences with the wallet and speculate what that means for the design. After that, they discuss the design of the payment terminal that’s included in the application, and also briefly touch on the Chivo ATMs that have been deployed across the country. Finally, Aaron and Sjors discuss the difference in philosophy between the design of the Chivo application and Bitcoin’s free and open-source software culture.

Chapters

00:00:00 Chivo: a first look at the rollout
00:07:19 Wallet choice, subsidies and adoption
00:13:30 Trying the Chivo consumer wallet
00:17:10 Custody, ledger entries and the $30 restriction
00:24:21 Release quality and the rushed launch
00:27:31 Merchant payments and conversion confusion
00:33:06 RBF, zero-confirmation payments and QR amounts
00:38:39 Unknown backends and reserve risks
00:40:57 Chivo ATMs and integration bugs
00:44:51 Transparency, disclosure and final assessment

0:00Chivo: a first look at the rollout
7:19Wallet choice, subsidies and adoption
13:30Trying the Chivo consumer wallet
17:10Custody, ledger entries and the $30 restriction
24:21Release quality and the rushed launch
27:31Merchant payments and conversion confusion
33:06RBF, zero-confirmation payments and QR amounts
38:39Unknown backends and reserve risks
40:57Chivo ATMs and integration bugs
44:51Transparency, disclosure and final assessment