As a result of El Salvador’s mainstream Bitcoin (BTC) adoption, Volaris El Salvador, a local subsidiary of budget Mexican airline Volaris, will accept Bitcoin as payment. The Bitcoin move comes a month after Salvadoran aviation authorities gave Volaris’ local subsidiary permission to operate in the country. Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele took to Twitter to announce that the airline would accept Bitcoin. Ya tenemos aerolínea salvadoreña, de bajo costo y que acepta #Bitcoin @viajaVolaris pic.twitter.com/mMqzxtOYhA — Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) October 20, 2021 In a recent Volaris event hosted on Twitter, President Bukele highlighted that the ability to pay with Bitcoin and …

Douglas Rodriguez, president of the Central Reserve Bank of El Salvador, has dismissed fears that the country adopting Bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender will scupper plans for a $1.3-billion loan facility from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). According to Bloomberg on Tuesday, Rodriguez stated that the central bank does not see any risks associated with the Bitcoin Law even as it prepares to secure an extended loan facility from the IMF. Indeed, the central bank described El Salvador’s Bitcoin Law as only having “upside risks,” with Rodriguez stating that a BTC bull run could help the country’s economy expand by …

The Salvadoran government has moved to prevent users of its Chivo digital wallet from gaming the app’s price freeze feature to glean risk-free profits through arbitrage. On Tuesday, Chivo’s Twitter account announced that wallet users will be unable to see the reference price provided for trades executed using the price freeze feature — which allows traders to retain the Bitcoin (BTC) price quoted by the app for up to one minute. Chivo tweeted that opportunistic traders have been using the price freeze feature to scalp for arbitrage across other cryptocurrency trading platforms globally during periods of significant price volatility for …

El Salvador’s mainstream Bitcoin (BTC) adoption is gaining momentum during the ongoing bull run as citizens are increasingly exchanging their U.S. dollar savings for BTC. President Nayib Bukele shared this new development on Twitter, based on data acquired from El Salvador’s in-house wallet service, Chivo. Bukele said: “People are inserting way more USD (to buy #BTC) than what they are withdrawing from the Chivo ATMs.” He also urged media outlets to independently confirm the above information by visiting the ATMs. President Bukele further stated that Chivo has reported 24,076 remittance requests, “adding up to $3,069,761.05 in one day.” 2 new …

Countries in the developing world will soon follow in the steps of El Salvador and make Bitcoin (BTC) legal tender, BitMEX CEO Alexander Höptner recently predicted. In a Wednesday blog post, Höptner expressed support for El Salvador adopting Bitcoin as legal tender in September, predicting that developing countries will be “leading the way” in Bitcoin adoption: “My prediction is that by the end of next year, we’ll have at least five countries that accept Bitcoin as legal tender. All of them will be developing countries.” Höptner told Cointelegraph that countries like Brazil and the Philippines could be among the following …

Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has announced plans to invest part of the $4 million worth of profits the country has amassed from its Bitcoin (BTC) holdings to invest into constructing a new veterinary hospital in the local capital of San Salvador. Taking to Twitter on Sunday, Bukele revealed that El Salvador’s state-operated Bitcoin trust currently holds $4 million worth of profits gleaned from its recent Bitcoin embrace. Bukele announced that part of the funds will be invested into constructing a veterinary hospital featuring four operating rooms, four emergency clinics, 19 offices, and a rehabilitation area. “We decided to invest a …

The research unit of Arcane Crypto predicts the Lightning Network will go parabolic as adoption of the Bitcoin (BTC) layer-two payment protocol ramps up over the decade. Arcane Research published the “State of Lightning” report on Tuesday and analyzed the Lightning Network in terms of current capacity, wallet payment volume, the growing rate of adoption, and the switch from online services to everyday usage. The report provides ambitious estimates for the future of the Lighting Network, such as 90% of Salvadorans over the age of 15 having access to Lightning payments by 2026, and 50 million Lightning users, representing $17 …

Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has announced that local consumers can enjoy a $0.20-per-gallon reduction in petrol prices when paying, using the government-backed Bitcoin wallet, Chivo. Describing the news as “positive news for the pockets of Salvadorans,” the president announced the subsidy via Twitter on Thursday. According to a rough translation, Bukele stated: “The state company Chivo negotiated with the largest gas station companies in our country, so that starting tomorrow, their stations will sell each gallon of fuel $ 0.20 cheaper, with Chivo wallet.” Bukele emphasized that there is no limit to the discount and that any local person or …

Bitcoin Depot’s cryptocurrency ATM network continues to expand, with North American installations surpassing 5,000 for the first time amid a surge in retail adoption. With the milestone, Bitcoin Depot is once again the largest ATM network in North America, the company announced Thursday. The number of kiosks has tripled in the last six months, giving more users access to cryptocurrency transactions without requiring a bank or other third-party financial services provider. Bitcoin Depot’s partnership with Circle K convenience stores has been a major source of growth for their crypto kiosks. As Cointelegraph reported, the two companies announced in July that …

Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele shared a video showing the apparent progress of the country’s Bitcoin (BTC) mining plant powered by volcanic geothermal energy. The video shows an overview of a power generation facility, with technicians enabling crypto mining rigs. First steps... #Bitcoin pic.twitter.com/duhHvmEnym — Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) September 28, 2021 Bukele did not elaborate much on the process shown on the video, only writing “first steps” with a Bitcoin tag alongside emojis depicting a volcano and El Salvador’s national flag. The president’s office did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph’s request for comment. The post comes months after Bukele announced plans …

Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele claims that 2.1 million of his fellow citizens are using the government-backed Chivo cryptocurrency wallet, offering a glimpse into the apparent success of the country’s Bitcoin (BTC) gambit. The controversial president updated his 2.9 million Twitter followers Saturday afternoon, claiming that Chivo “now has more users than any bank in El Salvador” after just three weeks in operation. Bukele indicated that it’s only a matter of time before Chivo adoption eclipses all banks in El Salvador combined. 2.1 million Salvadorans are ACTIVELY USING @chivowallet (not downloads). Chivo is not a bank, but in less than 3 …

El Salvador has made global headlines with its president's controversial introduction of Bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender — a move that has sparked dissent from many citizens and was met with skepticism by the International Monetary Fund. A new survey suggests that despite these developments, most El Salvadoreans still know little about the veteran cryptocurrency and even less about its smaller-market cap counterparts. Research conducted by the São Paulo-based agency Sherlock Communications suggests that 54% of Salvadoran respondents chose ‘none’ when asked which cryptocurrency they knew best out of a list of five leading coins. While 40% chose Bitcoin over …