AlphaPoint has been brought on board to manage the frontend and backend infrastructure for El Salvador’s Chivo wallet. News regarding the appointment of AlphaPoint went public on Tuesday when an announcement was made by the company and the El Salvadoran government.
The onboarding of AlphaPoint came following the termination of the contract with bitcoin automated teller machine operator (ATM) Athena Bitcoin because of an undisclosed reason. With AlphaPoint now at the helm of affairs, the startup will have to work hard in correcting the sabotage done on users’ wallets by hackers.
The hackers were disguising the 9-digit number of their means of identification to clone their identity and fraudulently redirect funds from the user’s accounts.
Since then, extensive efforts have been put in place to further tighten security on users’ wallets. Considering over half of the country’s population owns a Chivo wallet, the government sought a permanent measure to overcome the crisis.
AlphaPoint CEO Igor Telyatnikov said AlphaPoint had previously appealed to provide technological support to Chivo last year just before it was set in motion.
However, they have now fully taken over processing Chivo’s mobile point-of-sale, mobile apps, retail merchandising, customer relations, and other administrative payments.
Chivo’s decision to integrate AlphaPoint software is to enhance Lightning Network integration, hastening trade momentum and curtailing the expenses incurred by utilizing QR codes for bitcoin bargains and Lightning addresses.
The Chivo wallet also uses security measures like facial recognition and other biometric authentication technology provided by Netki to verify its users.
El Salvador to Install New 1500 Bitcoin ATMs
The government of El Salvador is making an active effort in promoting the country’s Chivo wallet and easing up the strain on performing bitcoin transactions. The distribution of 1500 bitcoin ATMs to the populace is one of the nation’s strategies to achieve this.
Not only does the government want citizens to perform high-tech trade with their wallets, but it also wants them to make daily transactions with it such as payment of utility bills and tax.
While a significant number amounting to about 75% of the population has Chivo wallet downloaded, the 1500 ATMs come off as a small number to serve them all, but it can significantly ease the current pressures on the citizens.
cmb.com 