It’s been another crazy week in the world of crypto with some notable headlines making for interesting crypto conversations. The price of Bitcoin dips as Donald Trump labels it a scam; El Salvador plans to make cryptocurrency legal tender; Huawei jumps on the crypto bandwagon; and Miami penthouse breaks the record for most expensive crypto sale.

Bitcoin dips as Trump labels it a scam

The price of Bitcoin dipped under $33,000 in the last 24 hours as former US President, Donald Trump, labelled the cryptocurrency as a scam. Speaking about his opinion on the US stock market and cryptocurrencies, Trump urged US regulators to take action and monitor the cryptocurrency. He claims that Bitcoin is a competitor to the US Dollar, which he wants to be the world’s currency.

Trump said,Bitcoin, it just seems like a scam. I don’t like it because it’s another currency competing against the dollar… My opinion is that the currency of this world should be the dollar, and I don’t think we should have all of the bitcoins of the world out there,” elaborating, “I think they should regulate them very, very high.”

This isn’t the first time that the former US President has been critical about Bitcoin as he clearly stated that he wasn’t a fan of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies during his tenure in 2019. At the time, he said, Unregulated Crypto Assets can facilitate unlawful behaviour, including drug trade and other illegal activity…”

El Salvador plans to make cryptocurrency legal tender

El Salvador is going ahead with its plans to make cryptocurrency a legal tender in the Central American state. This comes after President Nayib Bukele proposed a bill advocating for its official use in the country. The bill is expected to pass El Salvador’s legislative assembly and will be the first country in Central America to adopt a digital currency as legal tender, once implemented.

President Bukele’s Nuevas Ideas party holds the majority in the legislative assembly, making the adoption of the bill extremely likely. If passed, El Salvador will be the first country in the world to adopt Bitcoin as a world currency and will hold it in its reserves. This news is a welcome boost for many of El Salvador’s citizens as up to 70% of them do not have a bank account.

While the benefits of officially adopting a cryptocurrency as legal tender are unclear, it will reduce El Salvador’s reliance of their economy on the US Dollar and other fiat currencies issued by central banks across the globe.

Huawei jumps on the crypto bandwagon

Huawei has continued with its crypto push by partnering with the popular blockchain app, Maiar. Powered by Elrond Network, Maiar announced that Huawei users now have immediate access to its crypto wallet on the AppGallery store. According to their announcement, Huawei users now have the ability to convert their phones into biometrically secure hardware wallets.

The app offers greater security through its digital identity layer that works by mapping the phone number to a wallet address. This is an additional layer of privacy protection for users. Moreover, the app makes it easier to transfer money with the number connected as users can ping money to people in their contact list without collecting personal information.

Global VP of Finance Vertical at Huawei Consumer Business Group, Siri Børsum, expressed his delight with the launch saying, “Maiar’s debut in the AppGallery will empower our customers with an important tool that will help them take control of their financial health… blockchain technology will play an essential role in advancing the consumer internet, which needs to be mobile, personal, and secure.”

Miami penthouse breaks the record for most expensive crypto sale

A penthouse in Miami now holds the global record for the most expensive property purchased with cryptocurrency. An anonymous buyer purchased the penthouse for a whopping $22.5 million, making it the most expensive cryptocurrency-based real estate purchase ever made. Based in Surfside neighbourhood in Miami, it was the first of 16 units put on the market.

The Arte Surfside by Antonio Citterio announced in mid-May that it would accept cryptocurrency as payment for some of its units. Just a few weeks later, the first unit was sold. The penthouse is located on the ninth floor of a 12-story building and has four bedrooms and four bathrooms with panoramic oceanfront views.

Arte Surfside has not revealed the name of the buyer nor the type of cryptocurrency used for the purchase. Arte’s co-developer, Giovanni Fasciano, was ecstatic with the sale saying, “Cryptocurrency is the future of wealth, and we believe this is only the beginning… Arte has set the precedent for what these sales can look like, and how fast they can take place. We’re proud to have laid the groundwork for this new, burgeoning world.”

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