Category Archives: Bitcoin

Massive Bitcoin Withdrawal: $800 Million Vanishes from Exchanges – U.Today

Alex Dovbnya

Roughly $800 million in Bitcoin has been withdrawn from cryptocurrency exchanges

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Approximately $800 million worth of Bitcoin has been withdrawn from exchanges, marking the largest pullback this year and the most significant since December, according to blockchain analytics firm Glassnode.

The massive transfer of digital wealth allegedly occurred on Coinbase, the largest U.S. exchange.

Glassnode's data reveals that the daily on-chain exchange flow showed a net outflow of Bitcoin amounting to roughly $709.1 million.

Other major cryptocurrencies were not immune to this trend either, with both Ethereum and Tether (USDT) also experiencing net outflows, though at a notably smaller scale.

Interestingly, Glassnode's data also highlighted that the number of addresses receiving Bitcoin from exchanges has hit a nine-month low. The seven-day moving average for this metric has dropped to 1,676.357, marginally surpassing the previous nine-month low of 1,678.024 observed on May 15.

The massive transfer is likely to be attributed to a single whale, which is why it is unlikely torepresenta broader trend toward greater self-custody of digital assets ora sign of market consolidation. Nevetherless, it was big enough to pique analysts' interest.

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Massive Bitcoin Withdrawal: $800 Million Vanishes from Exchanges - U.Today

3 risk-free cryptos to invest in 2023: Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH … – Analytics Insight

Cryptocurrency investment can be a lucrative opportunity for investors looking to diversify their portfolios and tap into the potential of the digital asset market. While the crypto space is known for its volatility and risks, there are certain cryptocurrencies that are considered relatively more stable and offer potential long-term growth.

In this article, we will explore three risk-free cryptocurrencies that investors can consider for their investment strategies in 2023: Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and RenQ Finance (RENQ). These three cryptocurrencies have a strong track record, a robust underlying technology, and promising future prospects.

Bitcoin, the pioneering cryptocurrency, has proven its resilience and value over the years. It is widely recognized as the most established and dominant cryptocurrency in the market.

Bitcoins decentralized nature, limited supply, and increasing adoption by institutional investors have contributed to its status as a safe investment option. As of 2023, Bitcoin has solidified its position as a store of value and a hedge against inflation.

Its strong network effect, widespread acceptance, and increasing regulatory recognition make it a relatively low-risk investment choice.

Ethereum, often referred to as the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, offers more than just a digital currency. It is a blockchain platform that enables the creation of decentralized applications (dApps) and the execution of smart contracts.

Ethereums versatility and widespread adoption in the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem have propelled its growth and value. As Ethereum continues to evolve with the implementation of Ethereum 2.0, which addresses scalability and energy efficiency concerns, its long-term prospects remain promising.

With its robust developer community, institutional interest, and expanding use cases, Ethereum is considered a relatively safer investment option in the cryptocurrency market.

RenQ Finance is an emerging decentralized finance (DeFi) player, offering a unique combination of innovative features and a solid foundation. RenQ Finance aims to connect isolated blockchains and establish a cross-chain asset exchange network, providing underlying support for the DeFi ecosystem.

RenQ Finances native token, RENQ, has gained attention for its impressive performance in the presale stages. With a focus on security, transparency, and community governance, RenQ Finance presents an intriguing investment opportunity.

Furthermore, RenQ Finance also offers a multi-chain wallet that provides users with a secure and user-friendly interface to manage their digital assets. The wallet supports various chains, allowing users to seamlessly navigate and interact with different decentralized applications (DApps) and protocols.

In addition, RenQ Finance provides a decentralized exchange (DEX) where users can trade their digital assets in a peer-to-peer manner. The DEX leverages liquidity from multiple sources, providing users with competitive prices and a seamless trading experience.

The platform further expands its offerings with features such as yield optimization, lending protocols, NFT launchpad, and more, aiming to cater to the diverse needs of the DeFi community.

While relatively new, RenQ Finance has attracted a growing community and demonstrated potential for long-term growth. Investors seeking exposure to the DeFi market with a relatively lower risk profile may find RenQ Finance an appealing choice.

In the world of cryptocurrency investments, it is essential to balance potential returns with the level of risk involved. Bitcoin and Ethereum have proven themselves as secure and reliable investment options over the years, with established networks, widespread adoption, and strong communities.

RenQ Finance, as a promising DeFi project, offers an opportunity for investors to tap into the emerging DeFi market with a relatively lower risk profile. However, it is essential to note that even with these risk-free options, cryptocurrency investments carry inherent volatility and market uncertainties.

Investors should conduct thorough research, assess their risk tolerance, and consider factors such as market conditions, regulatory developments, and individual financial goals before making any investment decisions.

Click Here to Buy RenQ Finance (RENQ) Tokens.

Website:https://renq.ioWhitepaper:https://renq.io/whitepaper.pdf

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Telegram: https://t.me/renqfinance

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3 risk-free cryptos to invest in 2023: Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH ... - Analytics Insight

Iris Energy: Reasonable And Renewable Play On Bitcoin (NASDAQ … – Seeking Alpha

alvarez

Anyone who has followed my writing knows that I am not a fan of most Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency plays. To the extent one wants exposure to cryptocurrencies, I believe companies like Coinbase (COIN) and MicroStrategy (MSTR) are horrendous and inefficient pathways with bad business models, sketchy balance sheets, and worse management teams.

I also have had a generally healthy skepticism of Bitcoin (BTC-USD), no surprise for a value and credit guy. That said, if the first rule of investing is "Don't lose money" and the second is "Don't forget rule #1", the third is "stay humble and open-minded." Bitcoin has had an awful lot thrown at it and is still around.

Since I do not intend to abandon my short views on COIN and MSTR, a long on the other side is almost necessary. Fortunately, Iris Energy is a play on Bitcoin with good core economics, a solid balance sheet, top-notch management, and downside protection from asset flexibility.

Iris Energy (NASDAQ:IREN) is the largest Nasdaq-listed Bitcoin miner using 100% renewable energy. It provides an attractive data center exposure to the Bitcoin theme by combining:

These virtues lead to ~$200m high margin illustrative annualized mining profit in the current market (revenue minus assumed mining pool fees) and low assumed electricity costs ($0.045/kWh is based on existing BC operations). Together these advantages mean significant expected cash generation on top of a strong balance sheet ($55m cash, no debt) and a low-risk growth opportunity.

Iris Energy currently has three operating sites in British Columbia, Canada (Canal Flats, Mackenzie and Prince George) and one site recently completed in Childress, Texas, which currently supports 5.5 Exa Hash/second (or 180MW) of computing power. For the uninitiated, you can find an explanation of exa hash and hashrate here.

Iris Energy builds and operates its own proprietary data centers, providing long-term security and operational control over its assets. The Companys facilities are regularly ranked amongst the most efficient in the industry in terms of uptime.

The company recently announced an additional plan for 1.0 EH/s near-term expansion at its Childress site without raising any additional capital. This will put Iris as the 4th largest self-miner in the world.

Site

Capacity

(MW)

Capacity

(EH/s)

Status

Canal Flats (BC, Canada)

30

0.8

Operating

Mackenzie (BC, Canada)

80

2.5

Operating

Prince George (BC, Canada)

50

1.6

Operating

Total (BC, Canada)

160

4.9

Childress (Texas, USA)

20

0.6

Operating

Total (Canada & USA)

180

5.5

Childress (Texas, USA)

600

~18

Additional expansion capacity

Iris Energy has used 100% renewable energy since its inception. The Company targets markets with low-cost, excess renewable energy where its operations can help solve energy market challenges (e.g. contributing to lower power prices in regulated energy markets such as British Columbia or shedding load to support deregulated energy markets with high penetration of intermittent renewables such as Texas).

Not only does this strategy give Iris cheap energy, it also helps mitigate potential regulatory and/or political risks associated with its operations.

Iris Energys cost of power for its BC operations as of March 2023 was ~$0.045/kWh (or ~$11.5k per Bitcoin vs. current spot price at the time of this writing of ~$26k/coin). Importantly, the Companys cost of power in BC is reviewed and fixed on a 12-month basis, providing certainty across its projects.

The Company recently disclosed that as part of BC Hydros annual rate review, its all-in unit cost of power was expected to increase by ~2% for the fiscal year commencing April 1, 2023 (i.e. an increase of ~$0.001/kWh).

The company also has low-risk and near-term growth opportunities at its Childress site (600MW of potential expansion capacity).

It has made significant upfront investments in key infrastructure (such as the 600MW bulk power substation and the first 100MW primary substation) which provides the ability to rapidly and efficiently scale beyond the Companys initial 20MW data center.

The Childress site bulk power station is connected to the ERCOT grid, allowing real-time access to spot prices in the energy market. To fully utilize that connection, the Company has an integrated proprietary data center design with engineering and technology that rapidly change power demand, cooling system, and miner load effectively maximizing cost per kWH.

Childress Power Optimization (Iris Energy Q1 Presentation)

The Companys 5.5 EH/s of capacity can generate strong cash flows in the current market with upside leverage to increases in Bitcoin's price. I'll also note here that Iris Energy has a non-HODL strategy (it liquidates all Bitcoin mined daily). This strategy provides a lower risk, cash flow exposure to Bitcoin.

Bitcoin price (US$)

$20,000

$30,000

$40,000

$50,000

Revenue

$107mm

$160mm

$213mm

$266mm

Mining profit

$40mm

$93mm

$146mm

$199mm

Site & corporate costs

$24mm

$24mm

$24mm

$24mm

Iris plans to add an incremental capacity of 1.0 EH/s of miners at its Childress site in Texas, which would obviously increase the numbers above. Childress currently has 20MW of operating capacity with near-term plans to add an additional 20MW. The company estimates the 1.0EH expansion will require ~$35mm of CapEx spending. Given that the company has $55mm of cash plus strong operating cash flow, it can fund its near-term expansion without additional capital. Most other miners, such as Marathon (MARA), do not have this ability.

Moreover, management speaks repeatedly that any future growth capex would have to be accretive nearly day one. Therefore, I will assume that should any growth opportunities arose that could not be funded internally, the same accretive hurdle would apply to any debt and/or equity funding.

Iris Energy is positioned favourably when compared to its listed peers across key metrics, including:

Despite these advantages, the Company continues to trade at a material discount compared to its peers on both an EV/EH and EV/EBITDA basis, which vary widely between comps.

IREN

Marathon Digital (MARA)

Riot Platforms (RIOT)

CleanSpark (CLSK)

Hut 8 Mining (HUT)

Cipher Mining (CIFR)

100% renewables

Yes

No

No

No

No

No

Geographies

Canada, USA

USA

USA

USA

Canada, USA

USA

Efficiency (BTC per EH/s)

113

83

77

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Iris Energy: Reasonable And Renewable Play On Bitcoin (NASDAQ ... - Seeking Alpha

Bitcoin Whales In Accumulation Phase, Major Price Surge Ahead? – CoinGape

The worlds largest cryptocurrency Bitcoin (BTC) has recently been under some selling pressure after facing a rejection at $30,000. As of press time, Bitcoin (BTC) is trading at $27,054 and has a market cap of $524 billion.

Despite this, Bitcoin key whale addresses have been accumulating at a steady rate over the last five weeks. As per on-chain data provided by Santiment, Bitcoin whale addresses holding between 1K to 10K BTC have accumulated ~85,000 Bitcoins over the past few weeks. In the latest report, it notes:

Bitcoins key large whale addresses tier has been on a steady accumulation run over the past 5 weeks, accumulating a combined 84,897 $BTC during this time while prices are stagnant. In their previous accumulation cycle in January, prices jumped +34.4%.

On the other hand, a large number of Bitcoins have been moving off exchanges which could serve as a catalyst to drive Bitcoin prices higher. Popular crypto analyst Ali Martinez noted that more than 20,000 Bitcoins have moved off the exchanges over the last 24 hours.

The biggest concern for investors is that where is Bitcoin (BTC) from here onwards. On the upside, Bitcoin should cross 200 MA or EMA i.e. $27,600 after which the BTC price can rally further all the way to $38,000 to $42,000, says crypto analyst Michael van de Poppe.

However, as we see, Bitcoin continues to face some selling pressure off lately. Explaining the support levels, Poppe said:

Sigh, #Bitcoinis again chopperino. Rejects at first resistance point, has a must-hold zone between $26,800-27,000. If thats lost, well probably cascade towards <$26,000 for a potential bullish divergence. Holding here would be good, needs to break $27,500 then.

While Bitcoin has entered into a consolidation phase, some altcoins have been showing strong moves. Litecoin surged past $90 amid upcoming halving event and boost in LTC20 address activity.

Similarly, Ripples XRP is up by 7.5% today as Ripple registers another micro win with judge Torres denying SECs motion to seal the Hinman Documents.

Bhushan is a FinTech enthusiast and holds a good flair in understanding financial markets. His interest in economics and finance draw his attention towards the new emerging Blockchain Technology and Cryptocurrency markets. He is continuously in a learning process and keeps himself motivated by sharing his acquired knowledge. In free time he reads thriller fictions novels and sometimes explore his culinary skills.

The presented content may include the personal opinion of the author and is subject to market condition. Do your market research before investing in cryptocurrencies. The author or the publication does not hold any responsibility for your personal financial loss.

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Bitcoin Whales In Accumulation Phase, Major Price Surge Ahead? - CoinGape

Bitcoin won’t go higher until it reclaims this level – Finbold – Finance in Bold

Although Bitcoin (BTC) and the rest of the cryptocurrency market have opened the week with recovery, crypto analysts suggest caution, arguing that the flagship decentralized finance (DeFi) asset still has an important level to reclaim before it can continue further up.

As it happens, Bitcoin has bounced back from an oversold level and is trending up, but the short-term setting remains bearish until descending resistance line at $28,500 is broken, according to the observations shared by cryptocurrency analyst Stockmoney Lizards on May 15.

At the same time, CryptoYoddha pointed out that a classic ABCD chart pattern has formed and that the maiden digital asset needed to reclaim the mid of the range for the continuation of the uptrend, while also referring to the level at around $28,500.

Furthermore, crypto trading expert Ali Martinez noted Bitcoin was facing stiff resistance ahead, especially between $28,180 and $28,990, where 1.24 million addresses bought 973,220 BTC. On the other hand, he sees the most important support level at $26,490, and that failing to hold above it could trigger a steeper correction to $24,100 or $23,190.

At press time, Bitcoin was changing hands at the price of $27,390, which represents an increase of 1.97% on the day in the face of the 1.62% decline across the past week, as well as the accumulated 10.13% loss on its monthly chart.

Meanwhile, a recognized pseudonymous crypto analyst El_crypto_prof, also known as Moustache, revealed that Bitcoins price action followed a trend of higher highs and higher lows that often led to a parabolic rally, implying it could achieve a new all-time high (ATH) before 2025.

Disclaimer: The content on this site should not be considered investment advice. Investing is speculative. When investing, your capital is at risk.

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Bitcoin won't go higher until it reclaims this level - Finbold - Finance in Bold

Bitcoin [BTC]: Outflows ripple through the market as investor confidence takes a dip – AMBCrypto News

Outflows from digital asset investment products totaled $54 million last week, bringing the third consecutive week of outflows to $200 million, CoinShares found in a report published on 15 May.

ReadBitcoins [BTC] Price Prediction2023-24

Per its previous report, CoinShares had noted that the continued exit of liquidity from digital asset investment products was due to the negative sentiments ravaging the general cryptocurrency market. As negative sentiments lingered last week, even more divestments were made, with a notable portion of those outflows related to Bitcoin [BTC].

According to CoinShares, the $54 million in outflows from digital asset investment products recorded last week represented 0.6% of total assets under management (AuM). As the market trended downwards, causing the prices of crypto assets to fall, total AuM fell by 13% since their mid-April peak.

In its report, CoinShares found that investors focus(ed) on Bitcoin, as the king coin logged outflows totaling $38 million last week. This represented 70% of the total monies removed from investment products during that period. Moreso, this figure brought the coins fourth week of outflows to $160 million.

The additional $38 million in outflows brought the BTCs month-to-date outflows to $69 million and year-to-date outflows to $78 million. It also led to a 4% reduction in the coins total AuM within a seven-day period.

As for short-Bitcoin investments, there were $10.4 million worth of outflows, bringing its month-to-date outflows to $34 million. In the previous week, short-Bitcoin investment products recorded their largest weekly outflows of $23.

How much are1,10,100 BTCs worth today?

Per CoinShares, the multi-assets investment market experienced a total outflow of $7 million last week. However, an interesting trend of inflows was witnessed across eight distinct altcoin assets, suggesting investors are becoming more adventurous and selective.

Altcoins such as Ethereum [ETH], Cardano [ADA], Tron [TRX], and Sandbox [SAND] recorded inflows of $100,000, $500,000, $230,000, and $200,000, respectively. Conversely, the only altcoin to witness outflows was Binances BNB coin, which saw a withdrawal of $500,000.

Regarding regional sentiments, CoinShares noted:

Similar to last week, the outflows were broad from a regional perspective, suggesting negative sentiment is not concentrated on just a few investors. That said, the outflows were focussed primarily in Europe, particularly when taking into account that 84% of outflows in the US were from investors selling out of short positions.

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Bitcoin [BTC]: Outflows ripple through the market as investor confidence takes a dip - AMBCrypto News

3 reasons why Lido DAO price jumped 40% in a week Outperforming Bitcoin, Ethereum – Cointelegraph

The price of Lido DAO (LDO) has rebounded to its three-week high of $2.21 as of May 16, up 40% when measured from its local low of $1.57, established four days ago.

This impressive double-digit recovery appeared in tandem with other top-ranking crypto assets, including Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH). However, LDO has greatly outperformed the broader crypto market (TOTAL), which is up only 4.5% since May 12.

But what are the reasons why Lido DAO is outperforming the rest of the cryptocurrency market right now? Lets take a closer look at the three biggest factors likely driving up LDOs price.

The LDO price recovery coincides with the net positive inflows into Ethereums proof-of-stake (PoS) contract in recent days.

Lido DAO is primarily an Ethereum liquid staking platform. It enables users to pool their funds to become validators on Ethereum, thus bypassing the networks requirement of depositing at least 32 ETH.

In April, Ethereum underwent a network upgrade called Shapella, which supports reward withdrawals from its staking contract. As a result, its PoS contract witnessed days when the amount of ETH withdrawals outnumbered deposits.

For instance, the net ETH staked with its PoS contract was19.27 million ETH on April 11, a day before the Shapella upgrade. The number fell to 90,704 a week later, followed by a consistent recovery, according to data tracked by Nansen.

As of May 16, the Ethereum PoS contract had over 20 million ETH, underscoring the growing demand for liquid staking service providers like Lido DAO. The price of its governance token, LDO, likely benefited from the narrative.

For instance, Lido DAOs nearest competitor, RocketPool (RPL), has also soared 15% to around $50 when measured from its May 12 low.

It should be noted that Lido DAO did not support full ETH withdrawals. Instead, it issued staked Ether (stETH), theoretically pegged to ETH by 1:1, to users that could be exchanged freely for other crypto assets across exchanges.

But that was until recently.

On May 15, Lido DAO launched the mainnet version of Lido v2, which enablesEther stakers to burn their stETH and exit the protocol at a 1:1 ratio. Since the upgrade, LDOs price has climbed 20%, or half of its 40% rebound thus far.

Related:Celsius moves $781M in stETH just as Lido withdrawals open

Lido DAO whales have also supported LDOs upside move in the days leading up to the Lido v2 launch. And, according to data resource Lookonchain, this may suggest that the buy the rumor scenario may have contributed to the LDO price rally.

From a technical standpoint, LDOs 40% bounce started near the lower trendline of a prevailing falling wedge setup. Traditional analysts see a falling wedge as a bullish reversal pattern.

The LDO/USD pair has recovered similarly in recent history, with each rebound taking its price to the wedges upper trendline. Now with the price treading around the upper trendline again, LDO could enter a breakout stage or pull back to retest the lower trendline.

LDOs breakout scenario will have the price rally toward $3.35 by June 2023, up around 50% from current price levels. This target appears after adding the maximum wedge height to the potential breakout point near $2.70.

Conversely, the pullback scenario could bring the LDO price near $1.56 by June 2023, down 30% from current price levels. This level has served as support and resistance in the past.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

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3 reasons why Lido DAO price jumped 40% in a week Outperforming Bitcoin, Ethereum - Cointelegraph

If You Bought Your Mom $100 In Bitcoin, Dogecoin And Ethereum … – Benzinga

Roses are red, violets are blue, flowers are overrated, does Mom want crypto from you?

If youre struggling with what to get your mom for Mothers Day, a gift of cryptocurrency is anoption. Heres a look at whether a gift of crypto on Mothers Day last year would have beena good investment.

What Happened: Mothers Dayis being celebrated today. While many will get their moms flowers and a card, another optionis buying shares of some of the most valuable and most well-known public companies.Others might consider gifting their momscryptocurrency as a long-term bet on a rebound over the coming years.

Mothers Day was designated an official holiday by then President Woodrow Wilson in 1914 and is celebrated on the second Sunday of May. Last year, Mothers Day was celebrated on May 8, 2022. Heres a look at how an investment and gift in three leading cryptocurrencies at thattime would be worth now.

Related Link: Here's How Much $100 In Dogecoin Today Could Be Worth If DOGE Returns To All-Time Highs

Investing $100 in Bitcoin, Dogecoin, Ethereum:Heres how muchBitcoin, Dogecoin and Ethereum a $100 investment in each couldhave boughton May 8, 2022.

Bitcoin: .0028 BTC

Dogecoin: 781.25 DOGE

Ethereum: .0379 ETH

Investing $100 in each cryptocurrency last Mothers Day would be worth the following based on prices at the time of writing:

Bitcoin: $75.15

Dogecoin: $56.25

Ethereum: $68.39

A $300 gift consistingof thethree top cryptocurrencies would be worth $199.79 today, a decline of 33.4%.

While the decline is steep, it is actually an improvement over the 51% decline seen in the same three cryptocurrencies between Mothers Day 2020 andMothers Day 2021.

Those who bought their moms cryptocurrency for Mothers Day in 2020 would have a different story to tell.

A $100 investment each in Bitcoin, Dogecoin and Ethereum on Mothers Day 2020 would have been able to buy the following amounts and now be worth the following:

Bitcoin: 0.0104 BTC, $279.14

Dogecoin: 38,270.19 DOGE, $2,755.45

Ethereum: 0.4727 ETH, $852.99

Read Next: 2021 Was The Year Of Dogecoin, A Month By Month Retrospective With Top Stories

Photo: Shutterstock

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If You Bought Your Mom $100 In Bitcoin, Dogecoin And Ethereum ... - Benzinga

Miners and fees: How rising transaction fees affect Bitcoin mining costs – CryptoSlate

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Disclaimer: By choosing to lock your ACS tokens with CryptoSlate, you accept and recognize that you will be bound by the terms and conditions of your third-party digital wallet provider, as well as any applicable terms and conditions of the Access Foundation. CryptoSlate shall have no responsibility or liability with regard to the provision, access, use, locking, security, integrity, value, or legal status of your ACS Tokens or your digital wallet, including any losses associated with your ACS tokens. It is solely your responsibility to assume the risks associated with locking your ACS tokens with CryptoSlate. For more information, visit our terms page.

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Miners and fees: How rising transaction fees affect Bitcoin mining costs - CryptoSlate

Bitcoin Surfing Tourists Are Flocking to El SalvadorWhats the Big Deal? – Decrypt

Tourists are flocking to El Salvador in record numbers, according to the countrys tourism minister.

The announcement comes as the Central American country ramps up its PR campaign to show the world that it is no longer a tiny backwater plagued by hyper violent street gangsbut rather a Bitcoin and surf paradise.

On Thursday, President Nayib Bukele, the countrys social media savvy, millennial leader, posted a cinematic video on Twitter announcing that El Salvador had just gone 365 days without a single homicide.

El Salvador today is undisputedly the safest country in Latin America, a dramatic voice narrates in the video.

AFP reported that the figure was the total number of days without murders since 2019 rather than consecutive days.

Tourism minister Morena Valdez added on Twitter that the country had received one million visitors so far this year.

Until recently, El Salvador was largely unpopular on the gringo trail, other than with hardcore surfers. That's because it repeatedly dropped in and out of the most violent nations on the planet lists.

In 2015, with at least 6,640 murders, it was ranked the most murderous country in the Western Hemisphere.

But El Salvador made headlines in 2021 when it became the first country in the world to make Bitcoin legal tender. Its eccentric leader has gone on Bitcoin-buying sprees and businesses now have to accept the cryptocurrency by law.

President Bukele has turned things around in the country by launching a historic crackdown on El Salvadors notorious criminal groups. He in turn hopes to transform the country into a tech hub.

And Salvadorans seem pleased with the turnaround: Murders are down and Bukele regularly polls well.

But human rights groups have criticized his crime-tackling strategy and institutions like the World Bank and the IMF have slammed the Bitcoin idea.

Real data is hard to get hold of, too: No one other than the Salvadoran government knows how much murders have really dropped byor how much Bitcoin the government owns.

Still, the impact of the Bitcoin and surf tourism campaign is undeniable. Travel guide giant Lonely Planet in November rated El Salvador as one of 11 top countries to visit in 2023.

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Bitcoin Surfing Tourists Are Flocking to El SalvadorWhats the Big Deal? - Decrypt