Crypto wrap: IMF warns El Salvador against using bitcoin as legal tender

Soon after El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele announced plans for the world's first Bitcoin city, powered by a volcano and financed by cryptocurrency bonds, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) recommended that the country stop using Bitcoin as legal tender, citing financial and consumer risks associated with the cryptocurrency. El Salvador, which has relied on the US dollar as its principal currency for more than two decades, legalized Bitcoin as an official money in September and has reaped the benefits. The IMF noted in a statement that Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in general might help with efficient payments, but that making them legal money would likely jeopardize financial stability. "Because of Bitcoin's tremendous price volatility, it poses major threats to consumer protection, financial integrity, and financial stability if it is used as legal money. It also creates fiscal contingent liabilities as a result of its use. Bitcoin should not be utilized...

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How cryptocurrencies work (and how they don’t)

The first and most popular cryptocurrency, bitcoin, launched more than a decade ago.

Cryptoverse: 10 billion reasons bitcoin could become a reserve currency

The spree follows Terraform co-founder Do Kwon’s announcement on Twitter last month that the project would buy the $10 billion worth of bitcoin reserves to underpin TerraUSD.

Germany shuts down darknet platform

German investigators on Tuesday shut down a Russian-language darknet marketplace that they say specialized in drug dealing, seizing bitcoin.

Mexican retailer Grupo Elektra embraces bitcoin for payments

Grupo Elektra in Mexico will accept Bitcoin as payment for goods, making it the latest shop in Latin America to do so as the cryptocurrency's popularity increases. According to an online ad published on Twitter by Mexican billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego, Elektra, a grocery and banking chain owned by conglomerate Grupo Salinas, is providing a 20% discount on Bitcoin transactions. "It turns out that the rumors are genuine. Elektra is the first (retail) store in Mexico to accept Bitcoin payments "In a tweet, Salinas stated.”I'm sorry for beating the competition once more." BitPay, a Bitcoin payment service company located in the United States, will handle the transactions. A spokeswoman for Grupo Salinas could not be reached for comment right away. Salinas, one of Mexico's wealthiest individuals, owns the Banco Azteca banking company and said in June that he was trying to open Mexico's first Bitcoin-accepting bank. Bank of Mexico...

El Salvador adds nearly $25 million in bitcoin to state coffers, says president

Earlier last month, El Salvador became the first country in the world to adopt bitcoin as legal tender alongside the US dollar, which Bukele has argued will lower the cost of remittances from Salvadoran migrants living overseas.

Bitcoin-mining raises ire of environmentalists

An obstacle to large-scale bitcoin mining is finding enough cheap energy

JP Morgan: “Bitcoin Is a Better Hedge Against Inflation Than Gold”

Bitcoin is robbing gold of its allure. In a letter to investors, JP Morgan, the world's largest investment bank, stated that Bitcoin appears to be a stronger inflation hedge than gold. Many individuals favor bitcoin as a store of wealth, and bitcoin advocates have long claimed that cryptocurrency offers greater and faster returns than gold. Both of these characteristics are commonly linked with gold. Critics, on the other hand, claim that Bitcoin is very volatile and that there is no assurance that it will continue to increase. Despite this, the price of Bitcoin has crossed $50,000 for the third time this year. While this demonstrates Bitcoin's proclivity for rapid rises and falls, it also suggests that investing in it might pay off in the long run. JP Morgan's letter allegedly stated, "Institutional investors appear to be returning to Bitcoin, maybe perceiving it as a stronger inflation hedge than gold." Fortune magazine commented on the company's remark,...

Global chip shortage hits China's bitcoin mining sector

SHANGHAI/HONG KONG: A global chip shortage is choking the production of machines used to "mine" bitcoin, a sector dominated by China, sending prices of the computer equipment soaring as a surge in the cryptocurrency drives demand. The scramble is pricing out smaller miners and accelerating an industry consolidation that could see deep-pocketed players, many...

Man held for swindling over Rs 3 million through bitcoin transactions

KATHMANDU, May 22: The Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police has arrested a man on the charge of involvement in transacting illegal crypto-currency ‘bitcoin’ and swindling over Rs 3 million from various individuals.