Brian Quarmby
The CBA will become the first bank in Australia to support crypto, and Blockchain Australia said it is “inevitable” that the other “big four” banks, including National Australia Bank (NAB), Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) and Westpac, will soon follow suit.
According to a Wednesday announcement, the CBA has partnered with the Gemini crypto exchange and blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis to launch its crypto services. The bank will launch a pilot for a limited number of customers in the coming weeks before rolling out the full service in 2022.
Ten crypto assets will be supported in its banking app, with Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Litecoin (LTC) named at this stage.
Steve Vallas, CEO of Blockchain Australia, told Cointelegraph that this move was “extraordinarily important,” as the big four banks in Australia “underpin our national and international reputation as a financial services destination.”
“The confidence that this provides local digital asset sector participants will be dwarfed by the impact that this signal sends around the world that Australia should be a destination for cryptocurrency and digital asset adoption.”
Martin Young
The government of El Salvador is embarking on its next Bitcoin-related project, which involves building schools using profits the nation has made on the asset.
Profits or the “surplus” from the state’s Bitcoin Trust account will be channeled into the construction of 20 schools, according to President Nayib Bukele. On Tuesday, the press secretary of the presidency tweeted:
“When this project was started, we had not made as much money in FIDEBITCOIN [state BTC Trust account] as we have made now. So we have decided to make the first 20 Bitcoin Schools.”
Bukele’s spokesperson also stated that profits from previous Bitcoin (BTC) purchases will go toward benefiting the people and no Salvadoran taxes will be touched for the new project.
Local media reported that the construction of the 20 new schools will support the expansion of cryptocurrency education for locals and be part of the 400 schools planned for the “My New School” program. In October 2020, the Central American Bank for Economic Integration approved the financing of $200 million to El Salvador for the education expansion incentive.
Arijit Sarkar
El Salvador’s mainstream Bitcoin (BTC) adoption is gaining momentum during the ongoing bull run as citizens are increasingly exchanging their U.S. dollar savings for BTC.
President Nayib Bukele shared this new development on Twitter, based on data acquired from El Salvador’s in-house wallet service, Chivo. Bukele said:
“People are inserting way more USD (to buy #BTC) than what they are withdrawing from the Chivo ATMs.”
He also urged media outlets to independently confirm the above information by visiting the ATMs. President Bukele further stated that Chivo has reported 24,076 remittance requests, “adding up to $3,069,761.05 in one day.”
2 new Chivo Facts:
1. People are inserting way more USD (to buy #BTC) than what they are withdrawing from the Chivo ATMs (any media outlet can independently confirm this by visiting the ATMs).
2. Today, we received 24,076 remittances, adding up to $3,069,761.05 (in one day). October 16, 2021
The increase in dollar-to-Bitcoin conversions within the jurisdiction reflects a change in investor sentiment, which initially faced resistance during adoption from the general public. Moreover, the Salvadoran government offers various subsidies for using Bitcoin such as fuel subsidies and tax exemptions.
This Daily Dose is brought to you by Cointelegraph.
