El Salvador news-Page 8
El Salvador relaunches Chivo wallet, plans to deploy 1,500 Bitcoin ATMs
El Salvador, the first country to adopt Bitcoin (BTC) as a legal tender, has relaunched its in-house Chivo wallet to address the existing challenges of BTC transfers locally. With AlphaPoint integration, the updated Chivo wallet is expected to carry out instantaneous low-fee Bitcoin transactions while fixing concerns related to stability and scalability. Within the first month of establishing BTC as a legal tender, President Nayib Bukele announced that Chivo wallet onboarded 2.1 million Salvadorans, which by the end of the year amasses 75% of the population. However, the mass adoption met with numerous roadblocks, including system issues and missing funds. …
Adoption / Feb. 2, 2022
El Salvador president predicts ‘gigantic price increase’ for Bitcoin
Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has made yet another bullish Bitcoin prediction soon after the International Monetary Fund urged his government to remove Bitcoin’s status as legal tender. Bukele took to Twitter on Monday to predict that Bitcoin (BTC) will ultimately see a “gigantic price increase” due to its limited supply of only 21 million digital coins. The president cited Bitcoin's scarcity case, emphasizing there are “more than 50 million millionaires” in the world, and there is not enough Bitcoin if each one of them wanted to own at least one BTC. “No enough for even half of them. A gigantic …
Adoption / Jan. 31, 2022
Staying cool: Is crypto snowballing to 1 billion users this year?
Crypto.com raised a few eyebrows this past week when it announced cryptocurrency users worldwide could reach 1 billion by the end of 2022. The timing was curious, given that Bitcoin (BTC) and many other cryptos are entwined in one of the largest drawdowns in their (albeit short) history and with the prospect of United States Federal Reserve interest-rate tightening edging ever nearer. But the cryptocurrency exchange, which in November gave its name to the arena where the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team plays in a 20-year deal, was obviously taking the long view. Also, its prediction was contingent on two …
Decentralization / Jan. 28, 2022
Around El Salvador in 45 days: A Bitcoin-only travel story
El Salvador adopted Bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender over four months ago on Sept. 7, 2021. Bitcoiners around the world have been watching with intent as the president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, attempts to “orange-pill” an entire nation. The president regularly buys the dip, has promised a low-tax Bitcoin “Citadel” in the form of Bitcoin City, and is exploring renewable energy BTC mining using volcanoes. But what is it like for those living day to day in the smallest Central American country, known as “the land of volcanoes”? Moreover, what’s it like trying to live off only Bitcoin? An …
Adoption / Jan. 27, 2022
IMF urges El Salvador to remove Bitcoin's status as legal tender
Members of the executive board at the International Monetary Fund are urging lawmakers in El Salvador to no longer recognize Bitcoin as legal tender. The IMF reported on Tuesday that though digital payments had the potential to increase financial inclusion in the Central America nation, the use of Bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender carried “large risks” related to financial stability, financial integrity, and consumer protection. The executive board directors urged El Salvador authorities to “narrow the scope of the Bitcoin law by removing Bitcoin’s legal tender status,” also expressing concern about the potential risks of issuing Bitcoin-backed bonds. The officials’ …
Bitcoin / Jan. 25, 2022
El Salvador buys its cheapest 410 Bitcoin as prices reach $36k
The Central American country of El Salvador has added 410 Bitcoin (BTC) to its central reserve as BTC prices trade below $37,000, a price last seen on July 26th, 2021. The fresh addition to El Salvador’s BTC reserve was announced by President Nayib Bukele, who confirmed that the purchase of 410 BTC was made against $15 million, placing the price at approximately $36,585 per BTC. Nope, I was wrong, didn’t miss it. El Salvador just bought 410 #bitcoin for only 15 million dollars Some guys are selling really cheap ‍♂️ https://t.co/vEUEzp5UdU — Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) January 21, 2022 El Salvador …
Adoption / Jan. 22, 2022
Nations to adopt Bitcoin, crypto users to reach 1B by 2023: Report
There’s a beacon of hope for battered Bitcoin (BTC) bulls. A promising report from Crypto.com predicts that global crypto users could reach one billion by the end of 2022. The report reaches the conclusion that a combo of developing nations copying El Salvador’s orange-pilled example and a “friendlier stance” towards the crypto industry means that “Nations can no longer afford to ignore the growing push towards crypto by the public.” Looking back on 2021, the global crypto population increased by 178% in 2021, rising from 106 million in January to 295 million in December. While 2021 kicked off with Tesla …
Adoption / Jan. 21, 2022
Turkish and Salvadoran presidents meet, Bitcoiners left disappointed
Bitcoin (BTC) took more than just a beating in the markets. The orange coin got the cold shoulder as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan welcomed his Salvadoran peer Nayib Bukele in the capital of Turkey to talk about a number of topics. While Bitcoin failed to be a talking point, it did not stop the Twitter rumor mill from going into overdrive. As part of the state visit, Bukele and Erdoğan kicked off with an official ceremony. Shortly afterward, they inaugurated the new Salvadoran embassy before agreeing on six deals covering the economy, trade, defense, diplomacy and education. The trade …
Adoption / Jan. 21, 2022
El Salvador explores low-interest loans backed by Bitcoin
It’s full steam ahead for El Salvador’s Bitcoinization. The next point on the orange agenda is in providing low-interest loans backed by Bitcoin (BTC) to small and micro-businesses. While the details of the BTC loans are currently not disclosed, Mónica Taher, an advisor for the government of El Salvador, was straight-talking in a Facebook Live Audio held yesterday. The discussion was called “Bitcoin loans with lower interest rates.” Paul Steiner the President of CONAMYPE (the national institute for small and micro-businesses) shared that the implementation of loans would work with the government-created El Chivo wallet. El Salvador's business landscape is …
Adoption / Jan. 20, 2022
El Salvador’s Bitcoin wallet onboards 4M users with Netki partnership
El Salvador, the first country to make Bitcoin (BTC) a legal tender has onboarded 4 million users for its government-backed BTC wallet Chivo in partnership with digital identity provider Netki, according to an announcement. Netki has announced that Chivo wallet onboarded over 4 million new users in 45 days using the company’s flagship KYC/AML product, OnboardID. The platform also claimed that it had facilitated the compliant onboarding of 70% of the country’s previously unbanked population. El Salvador passed the Bitcoin bill in June last year and officially made Bitcoin a legal tender along with the U.S. dollar in September. Nayib …
Bitcoin / Jan. 18, 2022
Bukele’s Bitcoin trade raises El Salvador’s sovereign credit risk: Moody’s
El Salvador’s historic embrace of Bitcoin (BTC) could have negative consequences on the country’s sovereign credit outlook, according to Moody’s Investors Service. Moody’s analyst Jaime Reusche told Bloomberg this week that El Salvador’s Bitcoin gambit “certainly adds to the risk portfolio” of a country that has struggled with liquidity issues in the past. Under the leadership of President Nayib Bukele, El Salvador has recognized Bitcoin as legal tender and issued a state-run crypto wallet to facilitate payments, transfers and ownership. Along the way, El Salvador has amassed a treasure chest of 1,391 BTC, with President Bukele famously “buying the dip” …
Adoption / Jan. 14, 2022
Volcanos, Bitcoin and remittances: A Tongan lord plans for financial security
A former member of the Tongan Parliament is behind a proposal to make Bitcoin (BTC) legal tender in the tiny Pacific nation of Tonga, following in the footsteps of El Salvador. It’s due for a vote in Parliament in May and the early signs are encouraging. Mataʻiʻulua ʻi Fonuamotu, Lord Fusitu’a told Cointelegraph that plans are in motion to use state-run volcano mining facilities to create wealth in Tonga. Tonga has 21 volcanoes. “That means one volcano for every 5,000 people.” He owns one volcano himself through his family’s hereditary land rights. The proposed Bitcoin mining operations would use the …
Adoption / Jan. 14, 2022