During the Bitcoin 2021 event in Miami, it was known that the president of El Salvador is working on a plan for BTC to be adopted in the country.
During the weekend, we reported about the Bitcoin 2021 conference that was held in the city of Miami. The event was mainly supported by the mayor of the city who has not missed any opportunity to express his enthusiasm and acceptance for the cryptocurrency. Now, everything indicates that other countries want to follow suit. This is the case of the president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, who expressed that he will do everything possible for Bitcoin to become a legal tender in the country.
The news was primarily announced by Zap’s Jack Mallers, who during the Bitcoin 2021 presentation said that his company is working with El Salvador’s President Bukele to implement a plan. It was confirmed through the official Instagram and Twitter accounts of President Bukele, means by which, in addition, he always shows interaction.
The bill has yet to be reviewed by the country’s legislature. But with the populist Bukele’s upstart political party in firm control of that body, approval seemed almost assured on Saturday afternoon.
Passing the bill would likely make El Salvador the first nation to adopt a Bitcoin standard. Its full text was not immediately available.
El Salvador hand in hand with innovation
“From now on, El Salvador will become the first country for bitcoins”, Mallers said. “And the first country to convert Bitcoin into legal tender and treat it as a world currency and have bitcoins in its reserves”.
El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, 39, said in recorded statements that his plan will have short-term benefits for unbanked miles. He also stated that it will create jobs.
“And in the medium and long term, we hope that this decision can help us move humanity, at least a little bit, in the right direction”. Said the president of El Salvador.
In turn, he also justified this measure as a step to lead El Salvador to become a nation that goes hand in hand with innovation, for which it would adopt and implement new models focused on a promising future for both the country and the region.
Strike help El Salvador in the process
Among other details announced during the conference where the announcement took place, the company responsible for the Huelga wallet will support the President of El Salvador and government agencies in building the financial infrastructure necessary to make this possible on a large scale.
In this regard, the founder and CEO of Strike, Jack Mallers, assured that this announcement will echo throughout the world. Just as it will take Bitcoin to another level, adding:
“What is transformative here is that Bitcoin is both the largest reserve asset ever created, and a superior monetary network. Adopting a Bitcoin would provide a way to protect economies in development from possible impacts derived from the inflation of their local currency”.
For his part, Blockstream CEO Adam Back welcomed the move, adding that he will also support local government to make this possible:
“It was inevitable, but here it is: the first country on the way to convert Bitcoin into legal tender. We are pleased to help El Salvador on its path towards the adoption of the Bitcoin standard”.
The measure suggests that it represents a big leap for El Salvador. Since official statistics indicate that approximately 70% of residents do not access banking services. It is worth noting that within the country the official currency is the US dollar.
Jack Dorsey’s Square Inc. to Invest $ 5 Million in a Blockstream Facility to Mine Bitcoin
Square Inc., a crypto-friendly mobile payments company, is planning to invest $5 million in a Bitcoin mining facility. Powered by solar energy for Blockstream Mining, offering a further insight into Jack Dorsey’s continued support for blockchain infrastructure.
Chris Cook, Blockstream’s chief information officer, announced the partnership for the collaboration on Saturday. Meanwhile, he outlined plans to build the open source mining facility at one of Blockstream’s plants in the United States.
In addition to providing regular reports on the status of the project, the new initiative will also feature a so-called public performance dashboard. In which anyone can obtain real-time metrics of the mining facility.
Bitcoin and Gold Likely to Resist Fed Cuts, Says SkyBridge Capital
Fiat currency alternatives such as Bitcoin and gold are likely to remain resilient even if the US Federal Reserve cuts its quantitative easing (QE) program to boost liquidity, according to SkyBridge Capital, a hedge fund of $ 7.5 billion.
“All of the fiat currency alternatives, which have undergone fairly recent substantial corrections, are in a much better place now. To handle that eventual slowdown and gradual slowdown in money supply growth than they were, as they were making higher highs”. He told Bloomberg Troy Gayeski, co - director of investments and senior portfolio manager SkyBridge Capital.
“We are going to stick to Bitcoin and crypto because we think there are more advantages”, Gayeski added.
Markets have been betting on an early reduction in stimulus from the Fed since the US economy began to show signs of life in the first quarter. Reinforced by the rise in inflation in April to the highest level since 2008.
Curiosities
- Asset manager Ruffer has made a profit of more than $1 billion from a $600 million investment in Bitcoin that was made during November 2020.
- Speaking to The Times, London-based asset management firm chief investment officer Hamish Baillie so: “When the price doubled, we took some profit for our clients in December and early January. We actively managed the position and when we sold the last tranche in April the total profit was just over $ 1.1 billion”.
- Many students who participated in the 2014 MIT Bitcoin Project regret that they quickly sold 0.3 BTC that they received for free, which they spent on textbooks, sushi, and beer.
- The project was intended to encourage exploration of digital assets and promote the campus as a global center for cryptocurrency research.
- MIT alum Mary Spanjers describes her experience with cryptocurrency as “truly remarkable”, adding: “Most of us thought it was like a joke”.
- Bloomberg also caught up with other MIT alumni who quickly spent on Bitcoin, with several participants regretting spending their BTC on groceries or restaurants, including a nearby sushi joint that accepted Bitcoin as payment. Online forums suggested that other students spent their cryptocurrencies on beer, shoes, and other trivial expenses.
