El Salvador’s government could be planning to release a U.S. dollar stablecoin, investigative news outlet El Faroreported Friday. The currency would be issued by the central bank, pegged to the value of the U.S. dollar and backed by reserves of real U.S. dollars.
#ElSalvador | El Gobierno de Nayib Bukele planea introducir una nueva moneda nacional, una versión digital de los colones salvadoreños, según ha constatado El Faro en videos de negociaciones privadas entre el Gobierno e inversores extranjeros de #Bitcoin.https://t.co/zfn9XaL8L2
Videos of private meetings obtained by El Faro show the El Salvadoran president’s brothers, who are not part of the government but frequently advise the president, planning to launch a national U.S. dollar stablecoin by next year.
The cryptocurrency would be called the “Colón-Dollar,” a reference to the country's former national currency that was replaced with the U.S. dollar in 2001.
El Faro reported that a government spokesperson said the plans were scrapped—but went on to claim that the plans are still underway, quoting a “source familiar with the negotiations.”
Some meetings cited by El Faro happened after President Bukele announced in June that Bitcoin would become legal tender in the tiny Central American nation. Senior government officials, private contractors and external advisors attended, reported El Faro.
The brothers added that they would like all cryptocurrencies to become legal tender in El Salvador. “But for that to happen we need government infrastructure that is up to the task for what’s ahead,” said Bukele’s brother, Ibrajim, according to El Faro.
El Salvador became the first country in the world to make Bitcoin legal tender after President Bukele announced the plan last month at the Bitcoin 2021 conference in Miami.
But investment banks like JP Morgan, U.S. officials and even the World Bank have all expressed concerns over how the country’s Bitcoin law would work.
President Bukele is very popular in El Salvador, a poor and crime-ridden country. But he has been criticized for the way he has dealt with gang members, his attacks on the press and when he marched troops into parliament to pressure lawmakers.
Daily Debrief Newsletter
Start every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more.
AI infrastructure firm CoreWeave reported revenue more than five times higher than a year ago, fueled by surging demand for computing power across the sector.
In the company’s first earnings report since going public in March, released Wednesday, CEO Mike Intrator said CoreWeave is "scaling as fast as possible" to meet "accelerating" needs for the booming AI sector.
The New Jersey-based AI builder brought in $981.6 million in revenue for the first quarter this year, up roughly $793 million from...
Mastercard has inked another partnership with a crypto company to provide stablecoin-powered cards, enabling users and businesses to make and receive payments in stablecoins worldwide.
Working with MoonPay, the rollout will rely on infrastructure from Iron, a stablecoin payment firm acquired by MoonPay in March. Transactions will be automatically converted into fiat.
Stablecoins have become popular tools in crypto trading and payments for their price stability, as each is pegged to a fiat curren...
Lyft has partnered with Bee Maps, a decentralized mapping platform built on Hivemapper infrastructure, to support its internal mapping efforts, the company has confirmed to Decrypt.
The rideshare firm began working with Bee Maps in 2024 and is using the platform’s street-level mapping data to help improve routing and navigation as it expands its autonomous vehicle strategy.
Bee Maps publicly announced the relationship in a blog post on Wednesday, describing Lyft as a customer of its crypto-incen...