Cointelegraph Team
Cointelegraph
El Salvador’s Legislative Assembly has passed legislation creating a $150 million dollar Bitcoin Trust and supporting the development of crypto infrastructure and services across the country.
The bill passed on Aug. 31, with 64 officials voting in favor and 14 opposing the trust’s creation. The Trust is designed to facilitate conversion of Bitcoin into U.S. Dollars, and support the roll out of vital technological infrastructure enabling widespread adoption of crypto assets.
The news comes just one week before the country’s controversial Bitcoin Law is set to take effect. The impending legislation will recognize BTC as legal tender across El Salvador and is slated to take effect on September 7th. Currently, U.S. dollars are used as legal tender in the country.
The Development Bank of El Salvador (Bandesal) has been appointed to oversee the trust’s operation.
The $150 million will be redirected from the country’s $500 million loan with the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI). The CABEI loan was originally taken for the purpose of economic recovery for small and medium sized businesses.
Of those funds, $23.3 million is earmarked to support the installation of government-backed crypto ATMs – allowing local citizens to exchange between Bitcoin and USD. $30 million has also been designated to offer incentives to encourage adoption of the Government’s digital wallet, Chivo.
In June, President Nayib Bukele announced the government would airdrop $30 worth of Bitcoin to every Salvadoran adult who downloads the Chivo wallet. However, El Salvador’s current population is 6.5 million, suggesting the government either believes adoption will be lower or has not allocated enough Bitcoin to go around.
In related new today asset tokenization and financial infrastructure company Koibanx announced it had signed a deal with the government of El Salvador to develop the country’s digital currency infrastructure with Algorand’s open source block chain at the core.
El Salvador’s Bitcoin Law has been met with some serious criticism and skepticism from international organizations and its own citizenry.
Minister of Economy, María Luisa Hayém Brevé said the government was focused on crypto currency education and using crypto incentives as a means to soothe the high amount of uncertainty within its population.
Information on these pages contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Markets and instruments profiled on this page are for informational purposes only and should not in any way come across as a recommendation to buy or sell in these assets. You should do your own thorough research before making any investment decisions. FXStreet does not in any way guarantee that this information is free from mistakes, errors, or material misstatements. It also does not guarantee that this information is of a timely nature. Investing in Open Markets involves a great deal of risk, including the loss of all or a portion of your investment, as well as emotional distress. All risks, losses and costs associated with investing, including total loss of principal, are your responsibility. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of FXStreet nor its advertisers.
Recommended Content
Editors’ Picks
Aptos and EIGEN lead $200 million token unlocks next week amid massive failure in low float, high FDV launches
The crypto market will witness token unlocks worth $200 million next week. APT and EIGEN will see the highest unlock volume, adding $93 million and $34 million worth of new supply to circulation. There is a massive failure among tokens that conducted airdrops with low float, high FDV.
Bitcoin, S&P 500 and USD sees simultaneous uptick amid declining unemployment rate
Bitcoin trades around the $62,200 level on Saturday following a reduction in the US unemployment rate. In addition to BTC, the S&P 500 and the US Dollar Index also posted gains. This marks a new market trend amid investors' heightened risk appetite.
Ethereum sees revenue uptick in September amid rising inflation rate
Ethereum revenue in September was about 4x larger than Solana's after the Fed rate cut. Ethereum annual inflation rate has risen to a two-year high of 0.74%. Ethereum has reclaimed the $2,395 support level and could rally to $2,595 if it crosses above the 100-day SMA.
Token unlock pushes XRP lower as holders come to grips with SEC appeal
Ripple climbs 2% on Friday. XRP is influenced by several market movers: the US SEC’s decision to appeal the final ruling in the Ripple lawsuit, Ripple’s $1 billion token unlock on October 1 and other token unlocks this month.
Bitcoin: Is BTC sell-off over?
Bitcoin price declined over 6% this week until Friday as the escalation of the conflict between Iran and Israel added fuel to this sell-off. The decline was also supported by falling institutional demand for ETFs. BTC bulls seem to be holding strong at a critical support level.
Five best Forex brokers in 2024
VERIFIED Choosing the best Forex broker in 2024 requires careful consideration of certain essential factors. With the wide array of options available, it is crucial to find a broker that aligns with your trading style, experience level, and financial goals.