El Salvador's tourism rises 30% after Bitcoin became legal tender
The Salvadoran government has outlined some economic benefits resulting from adopting bitcoin as legal tender. The country’s bitcoin law went into effect in September last year, making BTC a national currency alongside the U.S. dollar.
A notice posted on the government website Monday explains that during the first months of bitcoin being legal tender in El Salvador, “it was possible to identify the advantages of having added innovation and financial freedom.” The notice adds that tourism was one of the first sectors where it was possible to verify how bitcoin has helped the country’s economy.
The head of the Ministry of Tourism (MITUR), Morena Valdez, commented: “The implementation of bitcoin benefited the sector. More tourists and investors have come to see how cryptocurrency works.” She elaborated:
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Economic uncertainty is impacting Bitcoin price
The FRED Equity-Related Economic Uncertainty Index reached its sixth-highest reading ever today, as liquidity continues to dry up for risk assets. Spikes in this index typically coincide with significant drawdown periods in the S&P 500 Index.
As inflation has reached 40-year highs in the U.S. (as well as high readings throughout the rest of the world), investment-grade bonds essentially ceased to exist with nominal yields far below the inflation rate without accounting for credit (default) risk whatsoever.
We have continued to state in The Deep Dive that bitcoin’s monetary competition isn’t just gold, but rather the monetary premium that has nestled itself into global bond and even equity markets amidst the everything bubble.
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Bitcoin outperforms U.S. equities on Ukraine turmoil
Bitcoin’s notorious weekend volatility is paying dividends Tuesday for investors in the largest cryptocurrency, which is outperforming U.S. equities for a change amid the uncertainty surrounding the turmoil in Ukraine.
The digital token has remained in the green through most of Tuesday after slumping through the three-day U.S. holiday weekend. By comparison, the Nasdaq 100 Index has extended losses from last week after trading resumed following the Presidents Day holiday.
Bitcoin rose as much as 3.4% to $38,319, while the Nasdaq 100 was down as much as 1.2%.
“You tend to see overreactions that happen on weekends and holidays, and for a couple of hours overnight,” said Ed Hindi, chief investment officer and co-founder of Tyr Capital.
Bitcoin’s relationship with global markets had been strengthening despite it being long touted by advocates as an uncorrelated hedge against turmoil. The cryptocurrency has been mimicking movements in equities, most notably the technology benchmark Nasdaq 100 index. The correlation between the two rose was recently at 0.43, with a coefficient of 1 indicates asset classes move in lockstep.
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Bitcoin’s TVL on Lightning Network now worth over $1 billion
Bitcoin’s recent price performance might not encourage investors, but that has not stopped them from pushing the TVL of assets locked on the Lightning network to a new high.
According to available data from DeFi Pulse, the total value locked of Bitcoin on the Lightning Network has tripled from the figure of last year. Per the data, over 3,400 units of BTC, which is worth approximately $1.3 billion, have been saved on the layer-two network.
To put this in perspective, the figure stood at 1,089 BTC as of a year ago.
Read the full story on Crypto New Media
Edmonton’s Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital Foundation to accept cryptocurrency donations
The Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital Foundation is now accepting cryptocurrency as donations.
In what the foundation says is a first for a health-care foundation in Alberta, the GRHF has partnered with The Giving Block to accept cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
This will give the foundation a chance to participate in crypto-giving campaigns and connect with a new group of donors in Alberta, the GRHF said in a news release Tuesday.
“The Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital Foundation is focused on research, innovation and technology. Capitalizing on the benefits of digital currencies felt like a logical next step for us,” said Mark Korthuis, president and CEO of GRHF.
“By accepting cryptocurrency donations, we’re going to open new pathways to fund innovative health technologies that will make a real difference for patients recovering from injury or living with chronic conditions.”
Read the full story on Global News
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