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El Salvador Chivo Bitcoin Wallet Relaunch To Serve 4 Million Users

El Salvador, a country that has become infamous for being the first sovereign nation to accept bitcoin as a legal tender, continues its journey through uncharted waters. To make this move a reality, the country had launched its own government-approved bitcoin wallet, Chivo for carrying out crypto transactions in the country. Encouraging residents to accept the wallet by offering a $30 bonus on sign-up.

“Bitcoin Day” has since come and gone since then and El Salvadoran citizens are settling into using the cryptocurrency as a legal tender alongside the US dollar. However, there have been some kinks to work out with the bitcoin wallet, and one of those kinks being the ability to function properly for all of the residents of the country has led to the relaunch of the Chivo wallet.

Related Reading | Volume Of Bitcoin Illiquid Supply Points To Growing Bullish Sentiment

Chivo Wallet Relaunch

Since Chivo first launched last year, it has quickly grown in the number of active users. It eventually grew to 2.1 million users, a milestone that was celebrated by the president. However, this had started to present problems with stability and scalability. As with any good wallet, the Chivo wallet has to be able to expand to accommodate a large number of users, giving rise to the relaunch.

This new version of the app will allow more users to be able to access and use it seamlessly. It will eliminate the stability issues that arose with the first version. Thus making it a better fit for the expected more than 4 million users that will be using bitcoin as legal tender in the country. Users have been experiencing issues like missing funds, system issues, fradulent transfers, etc, which will be handled with the relaunch.

Related Reading | Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest Puts Bitcoin At $1 Million By 2030

The El Salvadorian government is said to have partnered with AlphaPoint, a white label infrastructure provider that will work on making sure the Chivo wallet is always running and stable, as well as handling issues regarding scalability and social impact. This relaunch will solve a variety of existing issues, as well as add new features to provide a better user experience.

“El Salvador and President Bukele are truly leading globally with this first major experiment in Bitcoin adoption at a country-wide level. We are honored to be involved in the process and provide the scalable and reliable solutions needed for this massive undertaking,” said Igor Telyantnikov, CEO/Founder of AlphaPoint.

El Salvador To Install 1,500 Bitcoin ATMs

In addition to the Chivo app relaunch, El Salvador has announced that it plans to deploy more ATMs to make bitcoin accessible to residents. The acceptance of bitcoin as legal tender had come with the installation of multiple bitcoin ATMs around the country to enable easy and swift payments. But the country is taking another step towards securing its title as bitcoin capital of the world.

BTC at $36K | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

El Salvador will add another 1,500 Bitcoin ATMs around the country, to be deployed in different locations. The country is putting these ATMs in place “to more readily serve the population of El Salvador, the statement read.

Featured image from Reuters, chart from TradingView.com

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Bitcoin ATMs Shut Down In Singapore After MAS Curbs Crypto Advertising

Financial service regulator – Monetary Authority of Singapore has issued fresh guidelines to limit crypto trading by the public. It has also taken a firm stance and asked cryptocurrency companies to eschew advertising or showcasing their products to the general public. MAS substantiated their decision by stating reasons which were purely risk-oriented.

The guideline stated and clarified that Digital Payment Token service providers “should not portray the trading of DPTs cryptocurrencies in a manner that trivializes the high risks of trading in DPTs, and should not promote their DPT services in public areas in Singapore or through any other media directed at the general public in Singapore”. 

“Highly Risky And Not Suitable For The General Public”

The Central Bank affirmed that such services are “highly risky and not suitable for the general public”. It implied that the broadcasting of cryptocurrency through traditional media such as newspapers and magazines must also cease to exist. 

On Tuesday, MAS declared that it would be outlawing crypto-to-cash terminals, thus, sealing all crypto ATMs in Singapore. Daenerys & Co,  which is one of the biggest crypto ATM operators with five crypto ATMs spread across the city had acted in accordance with the guidelines. Another rival ATM operator, Deodi also complied with the Central Bank’s order and ceased its only ATM. 

Related Reading | Intel To Present Low Voltage, Energy Efficient Bitcoin Mining Chip At Conference

This recent regulatory clamp from the MAS cropped up amidst the growing popularity of the blockchain industry with new investors joining the ecosystem each day. Although MAS quoted that “MAS strongly encourages the development of blockchain technology and innovative application of crypto tokens in value-adding use cases.”; the cryptocurrency market in Singapore continues to reel under a significant number of regulatory milestones.

Recently, Coincub, a fintech start-up in one of their rankings, called Singapore the world’s most friendly cryptocurrency economy. Singapore in the past had been quite liberal in terms of cryptocurrency adoption with an undemanding and positive legislative environment. Currently, the reality looks quite different, so to say.

Bitcoin’s growth is concerning regulators | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com
MAS Believes Bitcoin ATMs Let People Trade “On Impulse”

MAS believes that ATMs facilitated a seamless and convenient transaction of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. This could cause people to trade “on impulse”. This notion caused regulators to mandate the clampdown of ATMs all across the city.

In regards to crypto regulations, Singapore isn’t the only name on the list. In December 2021, Britain outlawed advertisements from seven such crypto firms as they were  “irresponsibly taking advantage of consumers’ inexperience and for failing to illustrate the risk of the investment”.

Spain had also led a crackdown on cryptocurrency promotions recently. Singapore’s regulatory escalation comes after Bitcoin’s prices nosedived almost 40% after BTC soared to new heights in November 2021. 

Related Reading | Green Energy: In NY, Bitcoin Mining Saved The Oldest Working Hydroelectric Plant

Cryptocurrency is not only a volatile asset but has also enabled a wide spectrum of fraud associated with digital assets. In recent times, cryptocurrency has facilitated money laundering and terrorism funding among other illegal activities.

“Digital payment token service providers in Singapore have to comply with requirements to mitigate such risks, including the need to carry out proper customer due diligence, conduct regular account reviews, and monitor and report suspicious transactions,” stated MAS spokesperson.

Featured image from iStockPhoto, Charts from TradingView.com

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Bitcoin ATM Stolen During Raid In Barcelona

Crypto-related crimes have been on the rise in Spain in recent times. The most recent incident is the case of a stolen Bitcoin ATM in Barcelona.

Related Reading | Data Shows Crypto Hacks And Fraud In 2021 Are On Track For A New Record

Bitcoin ATMs are kiosks that allow a person to purchase Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies by using cash or debit card. According to this website, Spain has the highest number of crypto ATMs in Europe. With 185 ATMs, it is also the fourth highest in the world.

Bitcoin ATM Theft

Local news reported on Friday that the Spanish police are investigating the theft of a Bitcoin ATM. The thieves stole the machine in a raid on a cryptocurrency exchange outlet in a wealthy Barcelona neighborhood.
The police force of Catalonia, Mossos d’Esquadra, said that the ATM theft happened around 3 a.m. They however did not provide any further information on the case to avoid hindering the investigation.

According to the news agency, police sources said thieves took the ATM from a shop on Beethoven street in the Sarria area. The area houses a branch of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC). GBTC reportedly declined to comment, and the police also refused to confirm the exact location of the robbery.

BTC trading at $64.16K | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

An unverified video that surfaced showed an SUV crashing into the GBTC storefront. Afterward, some hooded people from another car made away with the ATM.

This incident is just the most recent of the bitcoin-related crimes in Spain. A few days ago, a Spanish techpreneur reported that he had been robbed. Zaryn Dentzel, the victim, is the co-founder of Tuenti, a Spanish social network-turned communications firm owned by Telefónica telecommunications company.

He claimed that four or five hooded people robbed him of millions of Euros worth of crypto from his house in Madrid. They blindfolded him, covered his home’s security cameras, and beat him up. He was then forced to give up the password to an online account containing his cryptocurrencies which held tens of millions of euros in Bitcoin. However, the thieves were unsuccessful in stealing any of his cryptos.

Crypto Crime On The Rise

Crypto attacks are hardly rare. They occur more frequently than most people think, mostly through hacks, phishing scams, ransom attacks, and fake advertisements.
A couple of the most popular attacks this year are the $600 million Poly Network attack and the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack.

Related Reading | Over $5 Billion In BTC Paid In Top 10 Ransomware Variants, Says U.S. Treasury

According to the U.S. Treasury Department, the total value of suspected ransomware payments during the first half of 2021 was $590 million. Also, roughly $5.2 billion in outgoing BTC payments were tied to the top 10 ransomware variants over the past three years.

Many Bitcoin crimes have also been recorded in the U.K., Hong Kong, Australia, and New Zealand, to name a few.

Featured image by Coin ATM Finder, Chart from TradingView.com

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Honduras gets its first Bitcoin ATM

The “la bitcoinera” machine allows crypto enthusiasts to purchase BTC and ETH using the local fiat currency provided they are willing to scan their IDs and disclose certain personal information.