Bitfinex donates 36 Bitcoins and 600,000 USDT to El Salvador to support economic development

Cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex has donated 36 Bitcoin (BTC) and 600,000 USDT to small businesses in El Salvador.

This is part of a commitment to support economic development in neighborhoods struggling with gang-related violence. This money is being distributed in socially deprived communities such as Ilopango, Soyapango and Appa, where increased violence and extortion of small business owners are most common in El Salvador.

At the same time, it is also an act to prove that Bitfinex is still “standing” in the face of market storms after announcing that the exchange and Tether have no plans to cut staff during the crypto “winter”.

One love ❤️🇸🇻https://t.co/eddazj7lm0 pic.twitter.com/bNFC2gEOIt

— Bitfinex (@bitfinex) July 14, 2022

Donations will be funded through the recipient’s Bitcoin wallet, the Chivo wallet, funded by the government of El Salvador, which will support eco-friendly business initiatives employing local employers. In addition to the donation, Bitfinex’s parent company, iFinex Inc., is currently working with the government of El Salvador to create a new regulatory framework for crypto assets and securities.

Overall, since starting to accept Bitcoin as currency in September 2021, El Salvador has steadily increased its Bitcoin reserves through a series of BTC “bottom-fishing” transactions whenever there is a chance to drop. price. As of press time, the Salvadoran government is holding 2,381 BTC.

However, in reality, facing market downturn, El Salvador lost $58 million, equivalent to -54.21% from the initial investment.

On the other hand, despite the government’s support in accepting Bitcoin positively, businesses in El Salvador have been very slow to apply BTC, leading to a serious drop in Bitcoin usage in El Salvador. Chivo wallet in particular seems to be becoming increasingly unpopular despite the essential role of wallets in bridging the transfer of funds.

According to statistics from the Central Bank of El Salvador in the first 5 months of 2022, El Salvadorans living abroad sent 52 million USD in remittances, but most of it was not made through Chivo. Interestingly, President Nayib Bukele previously confidently said that El Salvador’s Chivo wallet could cost Western Union $400 million in annual revenue, but the truth reflects different results.

Among its many prominent Bitcoin initiatives, El Salvador is planning a $1 billion Bitcoin bond offering. Bitcoin-backed bonds will be tokenized by Bitfinex and Blockstream, with proceeds going towards the development of Bitcoin City. But so far, the bond issuance schedule has been continuously delayed and there is still no clear statement from the El Salvador government.

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