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New Record For Bitcoin Lightning Network As Adoption Grows

Bitcoin lightning network has now hit a record high. With the recent bull rally and adoption taking place in the year, the need for the lightning network has grown. This has led to massive growth for the network. Liquidity in the lightning network has hit multiple all-time highs this year and this is just another addition to that list.

Facilitating fast, efficient, and cheap transactions have been the driving force behind the success of the network. The all-time highs being hit this year show that adoption is growing and it represents a crucial lift-off point for the digital asset going forward.

Bitcoin Lightning Network Beats New Record

The recently reached all-time high of the bitcoin lightning network shows just how much it has grown since its inception. It also shows that the network is becoming increasingly important due to the amount of liquidity that is now present in it. With the record 3,225 BTC now in the network, it is more or less the evidence of adoption in the past few months.

Related Reading | VanEck Bitcoin Futures ETF Gets SEC Greenlight After Spot Rejection

One of these main drivers has been the adoption of bitcoin as legal tender in El Salvador. The country uses the bitcoin lightning network to settle transactions being made in BTC and as such has added enormous liquidity for the network. The chart shows just how much growth has been experienced by the network since the official adoption of bitcoin in the country, and this is just one country.

Lightning network adoption surges after El Salvador adoption | Source: Arcane Research

The lightning network is expected to grow even more in the coming months. This is because there has been an increase in service providers opting to use the lightning network to settle transactions. Although it looks like it might be at an inflection point on the chart, these newcomers will push it to newer highs.

Factors Driving Adoption

A number of factors have been behind the popularity of the bitcoin lightning network in recent times. Most notable of these have been the El Salvador adoption of the digital asset as a legal tender in the country. However, others like Twitter and Bitcoin Suisse are also bringing attention to the lightning network.

BTC price falls to $59K | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

Twitter had announced not too long ago that it was rolling out the tipping feature called the “Tip Jar” which would allow followers to tip their favorite content creator with crypto right on the app. This feature utilized the lightning network to enable the bitcoin transactions to be fast and cheap and has brought more attention to the network.

Related Reading | There Are More People Using Bitcoin Wallets Than Bank Accounts, Says El Salvador President

In addition, Bitcoin Suisse, the largest Swiss bitcoin broker, is furthering the adoption of the lightning network with its recent announcement. Bitcoin Suisse has said that it will make the lightning network technology available for use for its crypto payments system.

Bitfinex, one of the leading crypto exchanges, also enabled lightning deposits and withdrawals for its users.

Featured image from Securities.io, chart from TradingView.com

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There Are More People Using Bitcoin Wallets Than Bank Accounts, Says El Salvador President

El Salvador had made history when it became the first sovereign nation to make bitcoin a legal tender. The September 7 official adoption had sent the entire space into jubilation as it had marked a significant stride for BTC. Barely a teenager, the digital asset had grown from being a relativity unknown internet coin to become the official legal tender of a country.

Since then, El Salvador has made strides when it comes to bitcoin. The country had gradually increased its stake in BTC after its first purchase on what has come to be known as “Bitcoin Day” in the country. Adoption of the government-issued bitcoin wallet, Chivo, had grown rapidly as residents of the country took advantage of the $30 sign-up bonus.

Related Reading | Plummeting Bitcoin Exchange Reserves Show Investors Are Not Ready To Sell

It would seem that the adoption was moving at a more rapid pace than expected. Only two months after the law went into effect, President Nayib Bukele has made a revelation regarding the number of citizens who are using bitcoin.

BTC Wallets Being Used More Than Banks

President Nayib Bukele had provided updates at various stages after the adoption on how many people were using Chivo. The number had hit over one million users in the first ten days following September 7th. Subsequent weeks had seen even more adoption by residents who were beginning to accept the cryptocurrency.

BTC price drops down to low $60,000s | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

Bitcoin was introduced as a way to make sure that residents of El Salvador, most of them largely unbanked, would have access to services that they would otherwise be locked out of. It would seem El Salvadorians have taken full advantage of this.

Bukele took to Twitter to announce that as of November 15th, there were more people using bitcoin wallets than those holding bank accounts.

There is one country on Earth, where there are more people using #Bitcoin wallets than bank accounts.

Prolly nothing. https://t.co/bZb4M6XZZZ

— Nayib Bukele 🇸🇻 (@nayibbukele) November 15, 2021

The tweet was made in response to one from Bitcoin.com showing vendors accepting BTC for street food. Citizens of the country still use US dollars in addition to bitcoin but the cryptocurrency looks to be catching on even in rural areas.

Betting On Bitcoin

El Salvador’s support for bitcoin had not ended just at making it legal tender. The country had also bought the digital asset to show its commitment to its long-term growth. The first-ever purchase had been 200 BTC bought on the day the law went into effect. A promise was made to purchase more BTC, which has been done in the two months since.

Related Reading | Crypto Analyst Says Bitcoin Won’t Hit $100,000 This Year, When Will It Hit?

The latest iteration of the country purchasing BTC was two weeks ago when it had purchased 420 BTC for $25 million. Bitcoin had dipped during this period and the country had taken advantage of the situation to add to its bitcoin stash, bringing the total of its holdings to 1,120 BTC.

The world is still looking to El Salvador to see how using a cryptocurrency as a legal tender will play out in the long term. For now, the nation seems to be doing just fine and adapting to the new normal of having a digital currency as a legal tender.

Featured image from Permission.io, chart from TradingView.com

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New York Mayor-Elect Will Take Bitcoin For First Three Paychecks

Eric Adams, the new mayor of the city of New York, has once again publicly shown support for bitcoin. The mayor has long been in support of the cryptocurrency, saying he wanted to make New York the bitcoin capital of the country. His most recent show of support has only reiterated the mayor’s plan for the city.

Mayor Adams responded to a tweet from Francis Suarez, the mayor of Miami famous for making the city a crypto hub. Apparently, New York is in a race to make the city the cryptocurrency center for innovation over the city of Miami.

Related Reading | Ethereum Miner Revenue Outpaces Bitcoin In 2021

Accepting Paychecks In Bitcoin

Investors and Entrepreneur Anthony Pompliano had posted on Twitter asking who the first politician would be to accept their paychecks in bitcoin. Mayor Suarez took advantage of this opportunity to show his support for cryptocurrencies by saying he was accepting his next paycheck in BTC. This is unprecedented as no U.S. politician has openly admitted they would take payments in bitcoin.

I’m going to take my next paycheck 100% in bitcoin…problem solved! @Sarasti can you help? https://t.co/v4YdPZ0tYc

— Mayor Francis Suarez (@FrancisSuarez) November 2, 2021

Mayor Adams responded to this with an even more impressive revelation. The mayor who had been voted into office on November 3rd revealed that he planned to take his first three paychecks in bitcoin. This move was made in a bid to one-up the crypto-positive mayor of Miami and show New York’s commitment to making it the crypto hub of the nation.

“In New York, we always go big, so I’m going to take my first THREE paychecks in Bitcoin when I become mayor. NYC is going to be the center of the cryptocurrency industry and other fast-growing, innovative industries! Just wait!” – Eric Adams, Mayor-Elect, New York

BTC trading above $61,000 | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com
Making History

Mayor Eric Adams is only the second black person to be elected to the mayoral office of New York. His campaign revolved around making New York city an innovation hub, which resonated greatly with the younger residents of the city. His stance on crypto also drew the community to him. Now that he has won the race for mayor, Adams is focused on making the sixty a tech hub.

Related Reading | FOMO Beware: Spot Bitcoin Buying Volume Remains Low, Despite New ATH

Taking paychecks in bitcoin is unheard of but not a new concept in any way. Some payroll companies have also begun to offer options to pay employees in crypto. However, Mayors Adams and Suarez will not be receiving their paychecks directly in crypto as they are paid by the government.

They will receive their paychecks in dollars, which would then be converted into BTC. Suarez has in the past explored the idea of paying salaries in bitcoin. Mayor-elect of New York, Eric Adams, has so far not said anything to that effect, but the future of bitcoin looks bright in New York with Adams running the show.

Featured image from Bloomberg, chart from TradingView.com

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El Salvador Calls Another Bitcoin Dip With $25 Million Purchase

El Salvador has once again deepened its bitcoin bet with another purchase. The sovereign nation had made history as the first to officially implement bitcoin as a legal tender back in September. To mark the historical moment, President Nayik Bukele had announced that the country had bought 200 bitcoins. A promise to purchase more followed the purchased and the country had kept to that promise.

The country had purchased an additional 250 bitcoins after this. The third buy-in in September brought the total of El Salvador’s holdings to 700 coins. At each of these stages, President Nayib Bukele has referred to the purchases as ‘buying the dip.’ These have proven to be the case as the country of El Salvador is currently in profit with its BTC holdings.

El Salvador Buys 420 BTC

Since the price of bitcoin hit a new peak in October, the value of the asset had been on a downtrend. A number of small dips had seen the price pushed below $60K again. El Salvador has taken this as an opportunity to increase its BTC holdings while the broader market is more conservative. In line with the previous sentiment, the president tweeted that the country had once again ‘bought the dip.’

Related Reading | Bitcoin Exchange Balances Decline To Three-Year Low Amid Rising Prices

A follow-up tweet from the president hours later confirmed that the country was now in profit from its recently purchased bitcoins. This is because the purchase had been made when the price was still floating around $58,000 and by the time the follow-up tweet was posted, BTC’s price had gone back up above $60K.

It is still yet to be seen if the bet in BTC will pay off for the long term. However, in the short term, El Salvador is seeing major gains from its investments in the digital asset. The first batch of BTC was bought at $52,000 and the asset has since hit a new all-time high of $67,000.

BTC price trending at $61K | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com
How Does El Salvador Bitcoin Profit Work?

President Nayib Bukele took time out to clarify some inquiries about its investments in BTC. He pointed out that the country operates on a 1 BTC = 1 BTC perspective rather than just looking at the profits from the fiat value. This means that although El Salvador’s bitcoin fund is in USD, they fund it with USD and BTC. They only take out gains in USD but leave the fund with the same number of BTC that is in it.

How do we make a profit if 1 #BTC= 1 #BTC?

We have a trust fund accounted in USD, but the trust is funded by both USD and BTC.

When the BTC part revalues in comparison to the accounting currency (USD), we are able to withdraw some USD and leave the trust with the same total.

— Nayib Bukele 🇸🇻 (@nayibbukele) October 27, 2021

Related Reading | Why Trapped Longs At Bitcoin ATH Could Lead To More Downside

El Salvador’s strategy is an interesting one. However, it is not unique. Bitcoin maximalists have always believed that BTC is the currency of the future. Therefore, the asset should not be measured by its value in USD. Instead, it should be measured by its value in BTC. Ergo, 1 BTC = 1 BTC.

Featured image from Payments Journal, chart from TradingView.com

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American Singer Mariah Carey Offers Free $20 In Bitcoin To Promote Adoption

Mariah Carey has now solidified her stance in the bitcoin industry. The five-time Grammy winner had teamed up with the Winklevoss twins’ crypto exchange Gemini to launch a campaign that was aimed at empowering women around the world using crypto. The singer announced the partnership with Gemini via Instagram. In the informative Instagram post, Mariah Carey encourages people to sign up on Gemini and learn about crypto.

Carey boasts a following of over 10 million on the platform and is using her influence to encourage more women to get invested in the space. Although the post was tagged as a paid partnership, its value to the crypto space cannot be overemphasized. With more women in positions of power and influence getting in crypto, everyday women are inspired to explore the space and see what opportunities it could hold for them

Free $20 Bitcoin On Signup

Carey’s partnership with Gemini also comes with an upside for her fans. The singer announced in the post that if they used her link to sign up on Gemini’s exchange platform, then they will get $20 worth of free bitcoin on sign up.

Related Reading | Bitcoin New All-Time Cleared, $100,000 Straight Ahead?

In the video, Carey also talked about investing in bitcoin. She addressed one of the most common misconceptions when it comes to investing in BTC, which is that an individual will have to purchase a whole bitcoin to get started. Mariah Carey explained to her 10.2 million followers that they did not need to buy a whole BTC to get started. Instead, they could buy small portions of a bitcoin to get started.

Bitcoin price retests $63,000 | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

The singer said in the video that Gemini’s free educational materials helped her learn about space. As of today, the video already has over 500,000 views and has been making the rounds on social media.

Helping Women In STEM

It is no secret that the ratio of men to women in STEM fields is highly disproportionate. This has been due to the field being historically viewed as a field for men only. The ratio of women of color in the field is even more disproportionate and this has spilled into other fields like the crypto industry.

Related Reading | Analyst Puts Bitcoin Bottom At $50,000, Here’s Why

Black Girls Code is a not-for-profit organization that was founded in 2011 to combat this glaring issue. It provides support and pathways for women of color to get into the field of tech, and Mariah, in conjunction with Gemini, is supporting the cause.

A portion of the trades made by users who sign up using the singer’s code will go to the not-for-profit. So in addition to giving users $20 in bitcoin on signup, an organization dedicated to the growth of women of color in the STEM field will profit off the partnership too.

Featured image from Vulture, chart from TradingView.com

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Blockchain Firm Chainalysis Is Adding Bitcoin To Its Balance Sheet

Chainalysis has announced that it plans to add bitcoin to its balance sheet. The news came as a surprise to crypto investors as it is usually expected that a firm so deeply ingrained in the blockchain technology ecosystem would own some crypto. According to the blog post on its website, the firm had previously not owned any cryptocurrencies and this will be the first time Chainalysis is purchasing BTC.

Bitcoin has been purchased as an investment strategy by companies who are in and out of the blockchain space. The digital asset presents an alternative means of investment for people who want to have total control of their assets. With its recent purchase, Chainalysis joins the ranks of companies who are holding BTC for the long term, according to statements on the post.

Chainalysis Takes The Leap With Bitcoin

Chainalysis revealed in the post that it was buying bitcoin to put on its balance sheet. The company which is valued at $4.2 billion will put the purchased BTC in its corporate investment portfolio and intends to hold for the long term.

Related Reading | Number Of Bitcoin Whales On The Rise As BTC Chases New All-Time High

The company provides valuable software analysis software that helps exchanges comply with regulations. Its software is also used to assess risk and identify illegal activities that are being carried out on the blockchain, helping law enforcement to track the perpetrators.

Co-founder and CEO of Chainalysis, Michael Gronager, said, “Chainalysis is laser-focused on its commitment to building trust in cryptocurrency as a digital asset and we are thrilled to be adding bitcoin on our corporate investment portfolio.” Speaking on this being the first cryptocurrency purchase on the part of the firm, Gronager added, “This is Chainalysis’ first acquisition of cryptocurrency, and we will continue to pursue other digital assets as potential future investments.”

BTC surges past $64K | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com
Partnership With NYDIG

In order to purchase and custody the bitcoins, Chainalysis had expanded its partnership with bitcoin technology and financial services firm NYDIG. Both firms have been working together since they announced that Chainalysis would be NYDIG’s compliance technology partner in 2018. The BTC was purchased through the financial services firm and NYDIG will custody the digital assets on behalf of Chainalysis.

Related Reading | Strike Launches New Feature To Allow Users Convert Salaries To Bitcoin

“Our expanding partnership with Chainalysis is a mutually beneficial relationship. Chainalysis has long been building trust in the digital asset ecosystem, and this investment shows their belief that bitcoin is a sound investment for the future. We are happy that they trusted our platform to safeguard their assets.” – Nate Conrad, Head of Asset Management, NYDIG

The acquisition highlights Chainalysis’ long-standing faith in BTC as a long-term investment strategy. Bitcoin has been a profitable investment venture for companies that have invested in the digital asset in the past and Chainalysis stands to profit from the asset’s growth in the future.

Featured image from Bitcoin News, chart from TradingView.com

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Strike Launches New Feature To Allow Users Convert Salaries To Bitcoin

Payments processor Strike has announced the launch of a new feature that will allow users to convert their paychecks to bitcoin. This feature brings workers one step closer to collecting their paychecks in bitcoin. Instead of the employer paying out wages and salaries in BTC, employees can take the paychecks they receive and convert them to cryptocurrency in one easy step.

Receiving Paychecks In Bitcoin

Strike is enabling users to convert all or some of their paychecks into BTC. Instead of cashing into fiat and then having to change back to BTC, users can directly convert to BTC using the paycheck that they receive. The feature is known as “Pay Me in Bitcoin” was announced on Thursday and is one of Strike’s efforts to make BTC readily available to its users.

Related Reading | Why We Could See The First Approved U.S. Bitcoin ETF In October

Strike is best known for helping El Salvador in their journey to bitcoin adoption, but they are also a bitcoin-focused payments processor that allows users to receive and pay in BTC. And with the new feature, get paid in BTC with no hassles.

Strike completely bypasses the need for employers to adopt and start paying their employees in cryptocurrencies. Instead giving employees the power to decide if they would rather convert their paychecks to fiat currency or cryptocurrencies. This also means that employees are not limited by the payments options their employers use. It doesn’t matter the company individuals work for, they can choose to have their paychecks deposited in bitcoin.

BTC price trading above $61,300 | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com
Following The Lead Of Coinbase

Strike’s announcement of the “Pay Me in Bitcoin” feature comes only a few weeks after Coinbase launched a similar feature. In the announcement post, Coinbase shared that customers were now able to deposit their paychecks directly to cryptocurrencies to ease their trading activities and just like Strike, streamline the process of users converting their money to cryptocurrencies.

The feature has been welcome in the crypto space as investors can now decide to deposit their full paycheck or a portion of it into their cryptocurrency tradings accounts. Customers could also choose to deposit their paychecks directly to U.S. dollars on Coinbase, which they can then use to carry out their trading activities on the platform.

Related Reading | Bitcoin Breaks $60,000 Ahead Of SEC ETF Approvals

Similar to Coinbase, Strike announced that the feature will initially be available to users in the United States. Roll-outs for other countries may be in the works but there has been no confirmation of these. Although users can only convert their paycheck to bitcoin on Strike, Coinbase offers users a wider variety as they can convert their paychecks to the over 100 cryptocurrencies currently listed on the exchange.

Featured image from Inc. Magazine, chart from TradingView.com

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Billionaire Orlando Bravo Reveals He Owns Bitcoin And Why He’s ‘Very Bullish’

Billionaire Orlando Bravo recently revealed his stance on crypto. Talking to CNBC, Bravo revealed that he indeed held bitcoin and held a very bullish stance on the future of the digital asset. The billionaire appear at the Delivering Alpha conference where he openly expressed his love for crypto. Bravo highlight some of the best features of cryptocurrencies, exclaiming, “How could you not love crypto?”

Bitcoin Is Here To Stay

Although already quite valuable, the billionaire sees more growth in the future of the currency. Institutional investors are yet to completely dive into the space and Bravo explained that with more institutional adoption will come a surge in the value of the digital asset.

Related Reading | JPMorgan CEO Doesn’t Care If Bitcoin Grows 10X In Five Years

Being able to completely operate outside the purview of the government has been one of the major drivers of bitcoin growth. It has provided investors the opportunity to invest with amounts that would otherwise have seen them locked out of traditional investment avenues. Providing a major pull for younger investors who would rather take control of their financial investments.

Besides being personally owning bitcoin, Bravo’s equity firm Thoma Bravo is also invested in the crypto space. Thoma Bravo participated in a recent funding round carried out by the fast-growing crypto exchange FTX Trading. This puts the billionaire in a position where he is both personally and professionally invested in crypto. But it doesn’t end there. The fund manager also sees great potential in blockchain technology and said it “sometimes provides better use cases than data-based software.”

BTC price trading in the mid-$43K | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com
Why Bravo Is Bullish

Bravo’s bullish stance on crypto mainly boils down to one thing; adoption. It is estimated that less than 10% of the world’s population knows about bitcoin. With bitcoin’s growth being likened to that of the internet, there is going to be a major explosion in adoption in the next five years. The billionaire pointed that the digital asset will only continue to grow as more people adopt it.

“For me, it’s pretty simple. More people are going to use it in the future than today, and it’s going to be more established. Institutions are just beginning to go there, and once that happens, I think it will increase significantly over the years. I’m very bullish.”

Related Reading | Verifone Brings Bitcoin Payments To Thousands Of Merchants Across The U.S.

When asked if he thought crypto was here to stay, Bravo had enthusiastically replied, “absolutely.” He explained that inflation and transaction fee rates will drive people to bitcoin.

The billionaire declined to comment on future price predictions for the asset saying, “I’m not going to give you a number because looking at the fundamental value here is very difficult.” But added that bitcoin’s finite supply coupled with its use cases and growing adoption will be positive for the value of the digital asset going forward.

Featured image from The Guardian, chart from TradinginView.com

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Verifone Brings Bitcoin Payments To Thousands Of Merchants Across The U.S.

Bitcoin payments are gaining traction as the asset price has grown. With El Salvador making the cryptocurrency a legal tender, it is only a matter of time until other countries follow in its footsteps. Making the implementation of BTC payments important for companies who want to stay competitive in the long run. Major outlets have begun to accept crypto payments.

The latest of these has been AMC Theaters, which announced that it was going to begin accepting payments in various cryptocurrencies by the end of the year. This will enable theatergoers to pay for their tickets and concessions using Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash, with the addition of Dogecoin currently in the pipeline. Now joining the ranks of institutions accepting BTC payments is technology company Verifone.

Related Reading | JPMorgan CEO Doesn’t Care If Bitcoin Grows 10X In Five Years

Bringing Bitcoin Payments To The Forefront

Thanks to a recent partnership, Verifone has now brought bitcoin payments to thousands of merchants across the United States. The company which is known for producing payments processing technology is now bringing a new solution to its users. Verifone is one of the largest suppliers of credit card reader machines in the world. With its already established notoriety, it is now enabling the merchants who use its payments technology to accept cryptocurrency payments.

BTC price falls to $41K | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

Verifone partnered with Bitpay in order to merchants who desire to accept bitcoin payments. Bitpay will mitigate volatility issues by directly sending the BTC payments straight to the merchants’ accounts via fiat currency. This means that when a user pays for a good or service using bitcoin, the equivalent dollar amount of the bitcoin collected will be automatically deposited into the merchant’s bank account.

BitPay is one of the leading crypto payments processors in the world and with over 30,000 bitcoin transactions processed every month, it puts it in a prime position to help Verifone bring this service to the public.

Buy And Pay How You Want

Being able to spend bitcoin has been a pain point for the industry since day 1. Due to this, the digital currency has been mostly relegated to being just an investment asset rather than being used as an actual real-world currency. But growing popularity among users has prompted companies to start considering and accepting, BTC payments for the goods and services which they offer.

Related Reading | Over $5 Billion In Bitcoin And Ethereum Moved From Cold Wallets Amid China Crackdown

Verifone has stepped up to take on the mantle of making bitcoin transactions easier and seamless. According to Mike Pulli, CEO of Verifone, the company has received massive interest for its latest offering. Explaining that the company already has a backlog of merchants who are interested in implementing BTC payments. “There’s lots and lots of interest. I think our phones will be ringing off the hook,” Pulli said.

Although the company is yet to disclose which merchants are going to be accepting BTC payments, Pulli explained that the partnership was made in a bid to give consumers more options. “If they decide to buy a pizza with Visa or AmEx or crypto, we don’t care. We just want to give them the flexibility to pay the way they want to,” the CEO said in an interview.

Featured image from Investopedia, chart from TradingView.com

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Just 10 Days After El Salvador’s “Bitcoin Day”, President Bukele Confirms 1.1 Million Citizens Have Chivo Wallet

El Salvador has now marked its 10th day of bitcoin being legal tender in the country. This is a huge milestone that could not have been predicted to happen this soon. But as with bitcoin, everything is happening on an accelerated timeline. The country had introduced its own government-backed crypto wallet named Chivo in order to enable its citizenry to spend bitcoin in the country.

The adoption of this wallet was incentivized by the El Salvadoran government, which said that it was giving away $30 in BTC to every citizen 14 and above who downloaded the Chivo app. This announcement had come about a month before the law went into full effect and as of September 7th, El Salvador became the first sovereign nation to accept a cryptocurrency as legal tender.

Related Reading | New To Bitcoin? Learn To Trade Crypto With The NewsBTC Trading Course

One important point remained if the citizens of the country would actually assimilate into using bitcoin as a way of buying and selling. This is because BTC is not the only legal tender in the country. It operates alongside the U.S. dollar, which is already familiar to the residents. According to a recent tweet by President Nayib Bukele, it looks like El Salvadorans are adapting to using the crypto as legal tender just fine.

17% Of El Salvadorans Have Downloaded Chivo Wallet

The president took to his Twitter account to announce that 17% of the country had now downloaded the government-backed Chivo wallet. This number translated to about 1.1 million citizens who have already downloaded the wallet.

This comes only 10 days after the country had officially started using BTC as legal tender. The president added that this number was despite the fact that 65% of all of the smartphones in the country do not support the wallet. Yet they were recording an impressive number of downloads.

Related Reading | While Broader Crypto Market Holds Its Collective Breath, Whales Are Loading Up On Bitcoin

El Salvador might not be seeing the smoothest transition to using BTC as a legal form of currency in the country but the current numbers show that its citizens are adjusting to the new normal. The $30 incentive for downloading the wallet is paid after a user registers and confirms their identity on the app.

Paying With Bitcoin

Paying with bitcoin in El Salvador is getting easier as outlets implement bitcoin payments. Big franchises like McDonald’s and Starbucks have already begun accepting bitcoin payments on “Bitcoin Day.”

Another interesting fact about using BTC in the country has to do with the number of crypto ATMs currently installed. Data shows that just behind the United States and Canada, El Salvador now ranks third in the highest number of crypto ATMs installed. The government had installed crypto ATMs across the nation to facilitate ease of use.

BTC trading north of $47K | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com
Featured image from Bitcoin News, chart from TradingView.com

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U.K. Post Office Now Allows Users Purchase Bitcoin Through Its App

Bitcoin adoption is indeed ramping up in recent months. From retail outlets announcing users can checkout using their bitcoins to El Salvador officially accepting bitcoin as a legal tender, there is no doubt that bitcoin is headed for mainstream adoption. Coming hot on the heels of recent news of adoption is a peculiar situation with the U.K. Post Office.

A report from The Telegraph said that the Post Office was allowing the purchase of bitcoin through a new partnership. Swarm Markets, a German-based and regulated crypto exchange, entered into this partnership with the U.K. Post Office. It will allow users that have verified their identities through the Post Office EasyID app to directly access and purchase cryptocurrencies from Swarm’s websites.

Related Reading | As Crypto Market Goes Into “Extreme Greed,” Is Bitcoin Set For New All-Time High?

Users will be able to purchase cryptocurrency vouchers with just a few clicks, which they can then go on to redeem for cryptos like Bitcoin. This has worried financial markets experts, who have warned that cryptocurrencies are very risky to invest in. Thus, users should be presented with a clear and concise warning when they are purchasing them. Concerns were also raised about associating assets as volatile as cryptocurrencies with the Post Office.

“When people buy cryptocurrencies, they should be sold with a very clear wealth warning: that you could get back a lot less than you purchased. It’s one thing buying crypto online via an investment platform, as that’s what the audience expects, but you don’t associate this with the Post Office.” – Warren Shute, Chartered Financial Planner

BTC trading north of $45K | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

Swarm Markets believes that this partnership will make it easier for people to get started in crypto. “By making it easy and safe to buy real Bitcoin and Ethereum, more people now have the option to get started in crypto,” said Phillip Pieper, Co-Founder of Swarm Markets.

Buying Bitcoin In The U.K.

Just like any other region, there are numerous ways available for residents to purchase Bitcoin in the U.K. Exchanges like Binance, Coinbase, and Gemini are already operating and offering these services to U.K. residents, along with a host of other crypto exchanges.

Last month, payments giant PayPal announced that it was now expanding its crypto options to U.K. citizens. Users are not able to buy, sell, and store Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in their PayPal accounts. Although the ‘Checkout with Crypto’ feature which was made available to U.S. users was not included in this rollout. Nevertheless, this presented a new way for customers to get exposure to crypto. With PayPal allowing users to purchase as low as £1 worth of crypto.

Related Reading | The September Curse And How It’s Preparing Bitcoin For Another Rally

Speaking on the partnership with Swarm Markets, a spokesperson for the U.K. Post Office said, “Access to products and services are increasingly moving online and we’ve responded to this shift by launching our free-to-use app, Post Office EasyID. Allowing people to build their own secure digital identity on their smartphone and enabling them to easily control and prove who they are to whichever business they want to interact with.”

The U.K. Post Office will not receive a commission on the bitcoin and crypto bought through the EasyID app on Swarm Markets. But Swarm Markets is paying the Post Office for the usage of its ID verification software.

Featured image from eSeller365, chart from TradingView.com

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Nigerians Move Almost $40 Million In P2P Bitcoin Trading In A Month

Bitcoin trading has always seen high adoption in countries with currencies that are depreciating fast. The West African country of Nigeria has always been at the forefront of BTC adoption in the region. A combination of a large youth population, the growing popularity of tech, and a fast depreciating currency have seen citizens of the most populated African country turning to another option for value storage.

Related Reading | On-Chain Data Shows Bitcoin Daily Transaction Volumes Are Up 94%, Rally Might Not Be Over Just Yet

Earlier in the year, the government of Nigeria announced a country-wide ban on cryptocurrencies. Instructing banking and payment institutions to stop facilitating the buying and selling of digital assets. But despite the ban, bitcoin adoption continues to be on the rise in the country. In 2020, Paxful released numbers that showed that Nigerians made up the second-largest BTC market, only coming behind the United States.

This growth of Bitcoin has continued in the country. With exchanges like Binance, Buycoins, LocalBitcoins, Paxful, and a whole host of others providing an avenue for the citizens to trade BTC through P2P. Nigeria continues to lead the continent in BTC adoption.

Booming P2P Market

The ban does not seem to have had much effect on the momentum of bitcoin adoption in the country. Data from UsefulTulips shows that Nigerians alone traded and moved almost $40 million in BTC P2P trading in the span of 30 days.

Related Reading | Bitcoin Set To Outperform In Second Half Of 2021, Bloomberg Analyst

The data which was taken from July 4th to August 4th showed that the P2P value of BTC traded in Nigerian Naira (NGN) came out to $38,083,688 in 30 days. This number was taken from two prominent P2P services used in the country, Paxful, and LocalBitcoins. While the previous 30-day period had seen over $37 million traded and moved in the top P2P platforms.

BTC price breaks $40,000 for the second time in a 7-day period | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

Kenyans came in second place to Nigeria on the volume of BTC traded on P2P, with $14,054,477. Less than half the volume was moved by Nigerians alone. But still slightly higher than the amount moved in the country in the previous 30-day period, which came out to a little over $13 million.

Reasons For Growing Bitcoin Adoption

Bitcoin adoption in Africa is on the rise. Using BTC as a way to send remittances back home is becoming increasingly popular in the continent. In countries like Nigeria, remittances to loved ones back home can be a tiring and grueling process. With regulations making the changing of dollars into Naira a hard process.

Related Reading | Wells Fargo Now Offers Cryptocurrency Investment To Clients

Bitcoin provides fast and efficient transactions for people who are sending money back home. With their loved ones getting the coins sent in minutes. And swapping the coins for local currency in a couple of steps using P2P BTC trading.

With currency devaluations, citizens have now turned to digital assets as the new store of value. Nigeria’s inflation rate has now reached as high as 20%, hence the buying power of the local currency has gone down tremendously. Bitcoin provides a viable alternative to the falling currency.

Featured image from Bitcoinist, chart from TradingView.com

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Number Of Investors Holding Bitcoin Tripled In Last Three Years

A recent Gallup poll has shown that the number of investors who own bitcoin has tripled since 2018. U.S. investors are showing increasing interest in the digital asset. The number which sat at 2% back in 2018 has now tripled in 2021 as that number now sits at 6%. The investors included in the poll were investors who owned $10,000 or more worth of stocks, bonds, and or mutual bonds.

Ownership among investors aged 18 to 49 had grown 10 percentage points to 13%, up 10% from just 3% back in 2018. While investors aged 50 and older, only 3% said they owned bitcoin. Compared to 1% from back in 2018, showing the number had tripled in the last three years.

Risk Tolerance For Bitcoin On The Rise

From 2018 until now, the number of investors who think bitcoin is “too risky” to invest has been declining steadily. The poll showed that following the 6% of investors that confirmed they already owned bitcoin now, another 2% of investors said they would most likely buy into the digital asset in the near future.  In comparison to 2018, less than 0.5% of investors had said that they would probably buy the cryptocurrency in the near future.

Related Reading | SpaceX Has Bitcoin On Its Balance Sheet, Elon Musk

The number of investors who said they would never buy bitcoin had also dropped. The poll in 2018 had shown that 72% of investors said they would never consider buying into bitcoin, showing absolutely no interest in the digital asset. Now that number has dropped from 72% to 58% who say they would never consider buying into the digital asset.

The survey also consisted of a section that had investors who were curious about the digital asset but did not think they would be buying into the asset anytime soon. The percentage of investors in this category was 34%, up from the 26% in 2018 who had said they were intrigued but would not be buying into the asset.

Age And Sex Disparities

Gallup’s poll also featured a separation of the information into age groups and sex. Bitcoin ownership was up all across the board. Interest in the digital asset was also up with investors that were surveyed in comparison to the 2018 data.

Related Reading | Bitcoin Volume Continues To See Yearly Lows As Price Struggles To Recover

The report showed that the percentage of women who currently own bitcoin in the U.S. is currently 3%, up from 1% in 2018. While in men, the number of investors who own the digital asset in 2021 is now 11%, up tremendously from a mere 3% back in 2018.

Age disparities also showed a clear demarcation. Investors who were aged 18 to 49 were more likely to own the digital asset and investors over 50 years of age were less likely to own. Older investors who had no interest in ever buying or owning the digital asset was 80%, the highest of any group.

Bitcoin price chart from TradingView.com

BTC price currently trades above $32,000 | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

The sex disparity in investors regarding bitcoin was the same throughout the board. Male investors were more likely to own or invest in bitcoin than female investors.

Sentiments towards the digital asset have moved more towards the positive in the past three years. The percentage of investors who considered the asset “very risky” in 2018 was 75%, now that number is down to 60%. 35% of investors said they still consider the asset “somewhat risky,” while 5% said they did not consider the asset “not too risky” or “not risky at all.”

Featured image from NewsBTC, chart from TradingView.com
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Bitcoin Fundamental Expert Claims Adoption Metrics “Look Awful”

Bitcoin adoption metrics across the board “look awful”, claims a BTC fundamental expert on Twitter.

BTC Adoption Metrics Seem To Be Down

A BTC fundamental expert on Twitter claims that Bitcoin adoption metrics “look awful”, citing a few charts highlighting the important trends.

There are three relevant graphs here that the expert has pointed out, each related to the BTC address growth.

The first metric is the Daily Active Addresses, which as the name suggests shows the number of addresses active each day.

Here is how the Bitcoin Daily Active Addresses chart looks like:

Bitcoin Daily Active Addresses

BTC active addresses have plummeted recently

As is clear in the graph, the Bitcoin daily active addresses have only gone down in the last few months. In fact, the metric seems to have almost halved when compared to the peak during the early part of the year.

The next indicator of relevance is the number of addresses with more than 1k BTC metric, which shows how many addresses have more than a thousand coins stored.

Based on the value of the metric, it becomes possible to know how many whales are still holding on to their Bitcoin.

When the value falls, it means whales have started to dump. On the other hand, when it rises, it means old whales have bought into BTC again, and/or new investors have joined in.

Here is how the chart of number of Bitcoin addresses with or more than 1k BTC in balance looks like:

Bitcoin address with more than 1000 BTC

The BTC addresses with or more than 1k coins haven't recovered since the bull run

The above graph shows that the Bitcoin whale addresses fell down when BTC peaked during the 2021 bull run, and since then the metric has shown no signs of recovery.

This means that the whales that dumped during the run haven’t bought back into BTC yet.

Related Reading | TA: Bitcoin Turns Vulnerable, Why BTC Could Nosedive Below $32K

The last metric is the BTC New Address Growth, which shows how many new addresses are made each day. Here is how its chart looks like:

Bitcoin New Addresses

BTC new addresses have been gradually going down since the start of the year

It looks like the new addresses metric has gone down to the same level as it was right after the 2018 crash.

Related Reading | Bitcoin Trading Volume Plunges To Lowest Level Since 2020

However, while each of these indicators might not look so good, it should be noted that they can change for the better very quickly.

Bitcoin Price

At the time of writing, BTC is trading around $32.8k, down 5% in the last 7 days. Here is a chart showing the trend in the crypto’s price:

Bitcoin Price Chart

Bitcoin seems to be on a downward trend | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView
Featured image from Pexels.com, charts from glassnode, TradingView.com
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El Salvador Is Giving $30 In Bitcoin To Its Citizens

Ahead of the September 7 bitcoin law implementation date, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele has unveiled a new government crypto app. The government-issued app, which is known as Chivo, will be used to distribute the bitcoins to citizens.

According to reports, every citizen that downloads and registers for the app are automatically eligible for the $30 bitcoin airdrop. The president has said that the move is in an effort to bolster the adoption of bitcoin across the country.

Related Reading | Crypto Isn’t Money, Annual Economic Report On Bitcoin

El Salvador became the first country to adopt bitcoin as legal tender when it announced it was doing so back in June. The announcement took place at the Bitcoin Conference held earlier in the year in Miami. Further, the president stated that it would be granting citizenships to individuals who invest 3 bitcoins into the country’s economy.

The plan was made public during a public address by the president last night.

Why A Government-Issued Wallet?

A simple answer to this question is logistics. The anonymity of bitcoin makes it so that people can create multiple wallets from other wallet providers. This would be a nightmare for the government to try to discern who was real or not, and who had already received their airdrops and was applying again. The government-issued wallet would ensure that the government can confirm that the users were actual citizens. And it will help to mitigate the likely issue of people trying to receive more than one airdrop.

It would also mean the adoption of a government crypto wallet. This could act as a central database for people using the coins.

bitcoin chart from TradingView.com

Bitcoin back in green | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

Just because it’s government-issued does not mean people have to leave their coins in the wallet. Once they get their $30, they can simply transfer it out to any wallet of their choice. But there will at least be a record that they had already received their airdrop.

The airdrop is estimated to take around $117 million. This is accounting for the country’s population and then for the population for the eligible ages for the airdrop.

El Salvador has a population of 6.5 million. With estimates that about 60% of that number is above the age of 14. This means that about 3.9 million people would be eligible for the airdrop. This brings the monetary estimate out to $117 million. This translates to around 3,440 bitcoins.

Adoption In El Salvador

President Bukele took his time in the address to explain why they were doing this. He brought up that they wanted to encourage the use of bitcoin by citizens. And what better way to do that than to give people some free bitcoin to spend?

According to the president, “What we are doing is encouraging the use of bitcoin and encouraging the use of the system. Which is going to generate the multiplication of money in the economy.”

Related Reading | Extreme Fear In Crypto Market, Is It Time To Buy The Blood In Bitcoin?

The argument for the adoption of bitcoin by the president has always been to protect the unbanked. About 70% of the citizens of El Salvador are reportedly unbanked. This means that over half of the population has no access to a proper bank account.

In response to the rising rumors that wages and pensions will be paid in bitcoin, President Bukele assured the nation that no such thing was going to happen. Wages and pensions will continue to be paid in U.S. dollars.

During the address, President Bukele also did a preview of the Chivo app. He showed the graphics and how easy it will be to use them.

The app Chivo is not yet released for use. But it will be available for android and iOS devices. And it will be compatible with other cryptocurrency wallets.

Featured image from The Independent, chart from TradingView.com