Tumbling bitcoin overshadows El Salvador’s crypto conference

The eagerly anticipated bitcoin conference in El Salvador, which was in the spotlight in 2021 after the small country became the first in the world to accept cryptocurrencies as legal tender, has lost its shine this time around due to a severe downturn in the world of digital currencies.

At the "Adopting Bitcoin: A Lightning Summit in El Salvador," which started on Tuesday and finishes on Thursday in the nation's capital of San Salvador, it was clear that prominent figures from the bitcoin community were missing, as were the vacant chairs.

Juan Fonseca, a 41-year-old Guatemalan who attended the conference, stated that the low pricing and other concerns create an uneasy environment.

Like other cryptocurrencies, bitcoin experienced a steep decline over the course of the year as investors fled riskier investments in response to U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate hikes and extremely high inflation.

Following the remarkable collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, which is now trading around $16,600 from an all-time high of around $69,000 in November last year, Bitcoin, the biggest and best-known cryptocurrency in the world, has fallen even more.

Some enthusiasts consider the issues of today to be merely a passing phase.

Bitcoin exchange According to Paolo Ardoino, chief technical officer of the company, "Bitfinex will step up efforts to create a free, unstoppable, resilient, and open bitcoin and technological infrastructure for El Salvador."

The parent company of Bitfinex, Ifinex, has committed to assist with El Salvador's government to develop a framework for regulating digital assets and securities.

"El Salvador will emerge as Central America's financial and technological hub. After talking with El Salvador's president, Nayib Bukele, Ardoino stated that the noise wouldn't keep the builders from working.

The cryptocurrency will be accepted as legal tender alongside the dollar, according to Bukele, who announced on Twitter on Wednesday night that "we are buying one Bitcoin every day starting tomorrow."

According to unofficial calculations, his administration has so far purchased 2,381 bitcoins for a total of around $107 million.