El Salvador’s president—who once admitted buying Bitcoin on his phone while naked—today assured his constituents that the country’s crypto holdings were safe and not on the collapsing exchange FTX, according to Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao.
In a Thursday tweet, the CEO of the world’s biggest crypto exchange said he spoke to President Nayib Bukele, who denied that the country used FTX to store its Bitcoin.
Rumors circulated earlier today that the Salvadoran government may have exposure to FTX, a crypto exchange that started a colossal collapse this week—taking the entire crypto market with it.
El Salvador and the city of Lugano, Switzerland, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on economic cooperation aimed at spreading Bitcoin adoption.
The partnership between the Latin American country and the Swiss city will support “initiatives to drive the adoption of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies across their respective regions” as well as “fostering the exchange of students and talents between El Salvador and Lugano,” a Friday announcement by stablecoin issuer Tether said.
El Salvado...
Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz is credited with sparking the rumor after he questioned whether or not the country had exposure to FTX in a CNBC interview.
But Zhao then said on Twitter: “Man, the amount of misinformation is insane. I exchanged messages with President Nayib a few moments ago. He said ‘We don’t have any Bitcoin in FTX and we never had any business with them. Thank God!’”
Man, the amount of misinformation is insane.
I exchanged messages with President Nayib a few moments ago. He said "we don’t have any Bitcoin in FTX and we never had any business with them. Thank God!" https://t.co/CrM5wd24Ha
Mike Novogratz, a billionaire tech investor, later apologized for falling for “fake news,” adding he was a “a huge fan” of what President Bukele was doing in El Salvador.
Apologies to @nayibbukele and the people of El Salvador. I fell for ‘fake news’ and while I mentioned I hadn’t confirmed it, I should have.
FTX was a hugely popular cryptocurrency exchange, but it started to fall apart this week: news dropped that it was on the verge of bankruptcy after suffering a liquidity crunch.
Rival Binance then stepped in to say it would buy the exchange—only to ditch the deal a day later.
FTX is now trying to plug an $8 billion hole in order to save the company.
El Salvador last year made Bitcoin legal tender in the Central American country—an experiment that has been criticized by numerous institutions in the U.S.
The nation’s leader has repeatedly announced Bitcoin-buying sprees, but information on exactly how many coins the government holds—and where they are stored—is opaque.
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Bitcoin services company Fold announced Friday that it has added 475 BTC to its treasury, or about $41 million worth, bringing its total holdings to more than 1,485 BTC—nearly $130 million worth at today’s price.
The firm followed the playbook popularized by Michael Saylor’s Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), issuing convertible notes to raise funds for the purchase.
“We believe Bitcoin will play a key role in the foundation of a new financial era, and Fold will help lead the way,” said Fold C...
Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has proposed a significant reduction in the tax rate on crypto gains in an effort to overhaul its crypto tax regime.
In a draft released Thursday, LDP lawmaker Akihisa Shiozaki introduced a plan to reduce the tax rate on crypto gains from 55% to 20%.
自民党・デジタル社会推進本部にてweb3WGの制度改正案が公表。暗号資産を金商法上の有価証券とは異なる新たなアセットクラスとして位置付け、市場の発展、投資家保護、分離課税を実現する案です。なお、制度改正案については、3月31日まで広く皆さまのご意見・提案を募集します。（資料は↓のWGブログ… pic.twitter.com/CEc1f9wiPe
— 塩崎あきひさ 【衆議院議員・愛媛1区】 (@Aki...
Global fiat on/off ramp service Transak has obtained its Digital Currency Exchange (DCE) registration in Australia, marking a major step in its international expansion.
The company received its DCE registration from the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC), allowing it to operate as a fully compliant exchange in the country.
Akin to a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license in other parts of the world, this regulatory approval is critical for Transak, ensuring compl...
