Last week in review: The Cuban Resolution
It’s the final countdown! ♫ With just one day to go until El Salvador’s adoption of bitcoin, we take a look at how the Central American country is making provisions to facilitate the transition. Meanwhile, just a pebble’s skip away, Cuba now recognises cryptocurrency, and is New York poised to become the crypto capital of the US?
A lot happened in crypto last week. Here are our top picks to come from it.
El Salvador makes final preparations for before BTC introduction
- In June, El Salvador passed a bill that will recognise bitcoin as legal tender alongside the US dollar. The bill will require businesses to accept BTC as payment, though they are not obligated to.
- With just one day to go before El Salvador adopts bitcoin as legal tender, their government has agreed to create a $150 million bitcoin trust to facilitate merchants in the transition.
- According to El Salvador’s Minister of Economy, María Luisa Hayém Brevé, the trust will convert bitcoin to dollars in real time, which will allow local merchants to offset their risk exposure to bitcoin.
- Brevé has said there is a possibility of increasing the initial $150 million allocation, should it be necessary.
Cuba’s central bank recognises cryptocurrencies
- Cuba will now recognise and regulate cryptocurrencies, as per Resolution 215 published in the state-run Official Gazette last Thursday.
- The Resolution says the central bank will create a series of new rules on how cryptocurrencies will be used. One such rule will require related service providers to apply for commercial licenses in order to continue operations.
- Dr. Mrinalini Tankha, a professor of anthropology at Portland State University, has been doing research on Cuba for 10 years, and says she believes this is a positive sign for Cuba and its economy.
- “If you’re a software developer, or if you’re an NFT artist, you could actually get paid through cryptocurrency for your labor, and I think that’s where the potential actually is,” said Tankha. “It opens up a whole new economy for Cubans to participate in.”
Could New York become the US capital of crypto?
- As New York’s mayoral race heats up, some candidates are garnering votes by sharing their crypto vision for the future.
- Republican candidate Curtis Silwa has said, “As New York City Mayor, I will make NYC the most cryptocurrency-friendly city in the nation. Property taxes, fines, and fees will be payable in crypto.”
- Silwa has also shared plans to open more crypto ATMs and to incentivise businesses to accept crypto.
- This isn’t the first time New York has had a prospective mayor add cryptocurrency into their campaign promise either. Earlier this year, candidate Eric Adams, who won the New York Democratic primary, also made his own pledge:
- “We’re going to bring business here. We’re going to become the center of life science, the center of cybersecurity, the center of self-driving cars, drones, the center of Bitcoins.”
- Either way, cryptocurrency certainly seems like it will play a big part in New York’s future.
Twitter could add Bitcoin as payment option for Tip Jar
- A trail of breadcrumbs has indicated that Twitter is set to integrate bitcoin as a payment option for their Tip Jar, a feature that allows people to add external links to their third-party payment accounts so others can send them tips directly through those services.
- As well as advertising legal and compliance jobs overseeing payments in crypto, programming code in Twitter’s latest beta suggests that support for Bitcoin is available for its roll out as a payment option, which could be soon.
- This update is expected to include a Bitcoin tutorial for users, and will touch on the Lightning Network and custodial vs. non-custodial wallets.