El Salvador Buys 150 More Bitcoins, Western Union Profits at Risk
2 Min Read
El Salvador now owns 700 Bitcoins in total, and has launched its national Bitcoin wallet app - the Chivo app - which may cost Western Union and Moneygram $400 million annually.
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El Salvador Buys 150 More Bitcoins, Puts Western Union Profits at Risk
After becoming the first country to render Bitcoin a legal currency alongside the dollar on September 7, El Salvador has announced that it has purchased even more Bitcoin.
As the South American country previously owned 400 Bitcoin, El Salvador president Nayib Bukele announced that the country now owns 700, as he excitedly claimed to "buy the dip."
We just bought the dip.
— Nayib Bukele 🇸🇻 (@nayibbukele) September 20, 2021
150 new coins!
El Salvador now holds 700 coins.#Bitcoin🇸🇻
The father of all cryptocurrency has once surpassed $60,000 - Bukele made the announcement on early Monday morning, where the coin was priced at approximately $45,000.
El Salvador is a country with one of the highest number of cryptocurrency ATMs - it comes third to the United States and Canada. According to countatmradar.com, El Salvador has 205 Bitcoin ATMs.
The government coined the Chivo Wallet - El Salvador's Bitcoin wallet. The president announced that the Chivo app is completely functioning; however, this step has the potential to pose risk for other businesses. According to reports, money transfer giants like Western Union and Moneygram can lose up to $400 million a year if Chivo were to become popular. According to Bukele, 1.1 million civilians already use the Chivo wallet.
