El Salvador
Here’s how blockchains are helping to advance the global energy grid
The blockchain industry’s impact on the energy sector has been a major source of controversy over the past five years. Governments and environmental protection advocates have routinely expressed concerns about the amount of energy required to keep the Bitcoin network secure. Data shows the network’s energy consumption now rivals the yearly energy consumed by some small countries. Historical Bitcoin network power demand. Source: CCAF While much of the debate has centered around the negative environmental impacts of Bitcoin (BTC) mining, the drive to maximize earnings from mining and integrate blockchain technology with the energy grid has also introduced new developments that have the potential to be beneficial in the long term. Here’s a look at several developments that have arisen out of ...
Falling Bitcoin price doesn’t affect El Salvador’s strategy: ‘Now it’s time to buy more,’ reveals Deputy Dania Gonzalez
Dania Gonzalez, Deputy of the Republic of El Salvador, was recently in Brazil to reveal her country’s experiences with the decision to adopt Bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender. Gonzalez’s invitation to Brazil came from digital influencer Rodrix Digital, who was recently in El Salvador to produce a documentary about cryptocurrencies. Among the lawmaker’s activities in Brazil was attending Bitconf 2022, as well as meeting with Dape Capital CEO Daniele Abdo Philippi and Ana Élle, CEO of Agency ROE. Between her agendas, Gonzalez spoke with Cointelegraph and revealed how Bitcoin has helped to change people’s lives in El Salvador and how the federal government, led by President Nayib Bukele, has been taking advantage of the resources invested in BTC to improve the economy. El Salvador jus...
“DeFi is not decentralized at all,” says former Blockstream executive
Samson Mow, former chief strategy officer at Blokstream and founder of JAN3, is convinced that most decentralized finance protocols can’t compete with Bitcoin when it comes to providing an effective monetary network because of their lack of decentralization. As Mow pointed out, DeFi projects are governed by entities that can modify the protocol at will. “At the fundamental level, money should be immutable,” explained Mow. “If you can change it at will, then you’re no better than a fiat currency governed by the Fed.” Bitcoin’s decentralization makes it very difficult to modify its protocol, which is why Mow considers it a unique candidate for becoming a truly global monetary system. Mow pointed out that despite the immutability of Bitcoin’s base layer, developers can still build appli...
60 Minutes feature on El Salvador’s Bitcoin Beach will air Sunday
60 Minutes, the CBS news show that has been running since 1968, will feature El Salvador’s Bitcoin Beach in a new episode airing April 10. According to a Friday post from 60 Minutes’ Twitter account, the investigative news show will air a segment on the crypto-friendly area of El Zonte, a village located in El Salvador, where residents and visitors have been able to use Bitcoin (BTC) to pay for anything from utility bills to tacos. Sharyn Alfonsi, a journalist and correspondent for the show, interviewed Mike Peterson, one of the people who funded the project and encouraged crypto adoption among residents. How did a town in El Salvador become known as Bitcoin Beach? Sunday, Sharyn Alfonsi meets with Mike Peterson who helped make it happen. pic.twitter.com/tHaHsTKFx1 — 60 Minutes (@60Minutes...
Crypto Biz: Do you believe in Ethereum killers? Put your money where your mouth is, March 18–24
While crypto markets are still in a state of “fear,” as evidenced by Bitcoin’s Fear & Greed Index, the industry as a whole is giving us reasons to be bullish. Large venture funding rounds, growing adoption of decentralized governance models and new institutional-grade product offerings suggest that crypto is more than just daily chart patterns. This week’s Crypto Biz newsletter looks at a new Grayscale product that’s giving accredited investors more ways to bet on the so-called “Ethereum killers.” We also document two funding stories and draw your attention to the latest developments surrounding El Salvador’s Bitcoin (BTC) bond. Grayscale launches smart contract fund for Ethereum competitors Grayscale Investments, the world’s largest digital asset manager, has officially launched...
President Bukele hits out at Bitcoin Bond ‘FUD’ as CZ jets in to El Salvador
El Salvador President Nayib Bukele took to Twitter on Wednesday evening, hitting out at a Reuters report claiming Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) was flying in to save El Salvador’s Bitcoin Bond. “Please don’t spread Reuter’s FUD,” Bukele tweeted to his 3.6 million followers, rebuking the claim that CZ was flying in to assist after the $1 billion bond offering, originally scheduled for mid-March, was postponed until September. He was responding to a tweet on the subject by Bitcoin Magazine, which has now deleted the post. I’m a fan of @BitcoinMagazine, please don’t spread @Reuters FUD. The #Bitcoin Volcano Bonds will be issued with @bitfinex. The short delay in the issuance is only because we are prioritizing internal pension reform and we have to send that to congress before. https://t.co...
14% of Salvadoran businesses have transacted in BTC: Chamber of Commerce
Businesses in El Salvador have been slow to adopt Bitcoin (BTC) ever since the country famously recognized the digital asset as legal tender in September 2021, according to a recent survey by the Salvadoran Chamber of Commerce. Of the 337 companies polled between Jan. 15 and Feb. 9, only 14% said they had transacted in BTC since the Bitcoin Law came into effect. Over 90% of the companies indicated that Bitcoin adoption in the country had little impact on their sales. Seventy-one percent of the companies polled were micro or small businesses, 13% classified as medium-sized enterprises and 16% were large companies. While the low adoption rate may appear underwhelming at the surface, El Salvador has been on the U.S. dollar standard since 2001. Unlike the currencies of other emerging eco...
Two years since the Covid crash: 5 things to know in Bitcoin this week
Bitcoin (BTC) starts a new week struggling to preserve support as key macro changes appear on the horizon. In what could turn out to be a crucial week for Bitcoin and altcoins’ relationship with traditional assets, the United States Federal Reserve is set to be the main talking point for hodlers. Amid an atmosphere of still rampant inflation, quantitative easing still ongoing and geopolitical turmoil focused on Europe, there is plenty of uncertainty in the air, no matter what the trade. Add to that a failure by Bitcoin to benefit from the chaos and the result is some serious cold feet — what would it take to instil confidence? Just as it seems nothing could break the now months-old status quo on Bitcoin markets, which have been stuck in a trading range for all of 2022 so far, upcoming even...
Tourism in El Salvador up 30% since Bitcoin adoption, minister says
El Salvador’s adoption of Bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender in September 2021 has triggered a notable surge not only for its gross domestic product (GDP) but also for the local tourism development. According to Salvadoran Tourism Minister Morena Valdez, the tourism industry in El Salvador has surged more than 30% since the adoption of the Bitcoin law in September 2021. “We did a poll to check the activity according to the before and after of Bitcoin. The tourism sector increased in November and December. This increased by more than 30%,” Valdez said in an interview with the local news agency El Salvador News English on Monday. Boom! El Salvador’s tourism has grown by 30% since the Bitcoin Lawhttps://t.co/i8t6JRHD1a#ElSalvador #BitcoinLaw #bitcoin #bitcoininvestment #Abtc #tourism #BitcoinCity ...
Crypto community condemns Canada for freezing dissidents’ Bitcoin wallets
Global cryptocurrency enthusiasts have expressed concerns over Canadian authorities freezing bank accounts and crypto wallets involved in funding local COVID-19 protests. On Thursday, Ontario Superior Court Justice Calum MacLeod issued an order freezing all the digital assets and bank accounts associated with “Freedom Convoy,” a series of ongoing protests against COVID-19 vaccine mandates and restrictions. According to a report by the Toronto Star, the amount of funds frozen so far in bank accounts and digital wallets with Bitcoin (BTC) and other assets is estimated at more than $1 million. “The names of both individuals and entities as well as crypto wallets have been shared by the RCMP with financial institutions and accounts have been frozen and more accounts will be frozen,” Deputy Pri...
Does the IMF have a hidden script for El Salvador’s Bitcoin play?
On Jan. 25, the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) directors asked El Salvador to “narrow the scope” of its Bitcoin Law by “removing Bitcoin’s legal tender status.” Adopting a cryptocurrency as the Central American country has done “entails large risks for financial and market integrity, financial stability and consumer protection,” the fund wrote. Why did the IMF ask El Salvador to effectively pull the plug on its cryptocurrency experiment? Surely this small country — ranked 104th globally in gross domestic product (GDP) — is no threat to the international bank’s balance sheet. Moreover, 70% of El Salvador’s populace is unbanked, and one-fifth of its GDP is from United States remittances. Arguably, it could profit from Bitcoin’s (BTC) use. Then again, it’s only been half a year since El ...
Bitcoin education center launches in El Salvador to boost adoption
Major peer-to-peer (P2P) Bitcoin (BTC) platform Paxful is working to help Salvadorans better use BTC as the cryptocurrency became legal tender in El Salvador last year. Paxful on Wednesday announced the launch of “La Casa Del Bitcoin,” a new educational and training center in El Salvador to enable free learning opportunities related to BTC. https://t.co/qSPHy997JJ — Paxful (@paxful) February 2, 2022 As part of the effort, Paxful will hold educational workshops and talks focused on Bitcoin and financial inclusion in the country. The center will focus on growing awareness around the benefits of buying and selling BTC as a means of exchange for the local community to further drive the next wave of Bitcoin mass adoption. The center will also be home to the Built With Bitcoin Foundation offices...
