Riding The Wave News Summary #45
Bitcoin Is Costing El Salvador But President Bukele Isn't Stressed, GameStop debuts crypto and NFT wallet that 'markets don’t value' right now, & more
Welcome to Riding The Wave. If you have questions or feedback, please reply to this email. If you are new to the Newsletter, please check out what we provide on our about page and consider subscribing. Within the Newsletter, I provide News Summaries, Weekly Status Updates, & Deep Dive Articles on Specific Topics (Ex: How do I pick which coins/tokens to buy?). More details here
News
Table of Contents
Tweets
Bitcoin Is Costing El Salvador But President Bukele Isn't Stressed
GameStop debuts crypto and NFT wallet that 'markets don’t value' right now
Brave Adds Solana Support and Ramp Wallet Functionality in Latest Browser Update
Can Seth Green Still Make His NFT Show if His Bored Ape Was Stolen?
The Math Prodigy Whose Hack Upended DeFi Won’t Give Back His Millions
Tweets
Bitcoin Is Costing El Salvador But President Bukele Isn't Stressed
If there’s one world leader hoping for a Bitcoin price surge, it’s El Salvador President Nayib Bukele. His government is currently down about 35%, nearly $40 million, on the 2,301 Bitcoin he has bought with public funds since making it legal tender last year. The nation’s finance minister said Bitcoin’s price dip has even scared away potential buyers of a planned $1 billion Bitcoin-backed bond. Worse yet, the gambit seems to have cost his administration a much-needed program with the International Monetary Fund, which urged him to drop his crypto push.
None of this has stopped the crypto-touting president: He bought another 500 coins this month. Last week, he added laser eyes back to his Twitter profile picture
Nine months in, the experiment has spread more like moss than wildfire. Most companies don’t accept Bitcoin. Those that do report about 5% of overall sales are in Bitcoin and transactions are usually converted immediately to dollars.
Despite warnings, there’s no sign Bukele plans to ditch his Bitcoin love affair. He tweeted pictures this month of a mock-up for Bitcoin City, a proposed tax-advantaged jurisdiction on the country’s coast with geothermal energy to power crypto mining.
President Bukele is in a different situation when compared with Terra in that he doesn’t plan to sell the country’s Bitcoin in any situation. Assuming he isn’t overthrown and that the country doesn’t collapse within the next 4to 5 years I would expect El Salvador to benefit from their current investment.
GameStop debuts crypto and NFT wallet that 'markets don’t value' right now
In a bid to switch from a brick-and-mortar retailer to an e-commerce and crypto company, GameStop (GME) is releasing a “beta version” of its crypto and NFT wallet.
Now available for download through Google Chrome’s app store, the video game retailer’s digital wallet is non-custodial, similar to the crypto wallet launched last week by trading app, Robinhood.
The company’s first crypto product arrived Monday as investor interest for crypto as well as meme and tech stocks has drastically fallen over the last six months.
Investors can use the GameStop wallet to buy, sell, and hold non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and other crypto assets.
GameStop’s digital wallet comes ahead of its previously announced NFT marketplace that launches before the end of July. It will be built through a partnership with Ethereum layer 2 network, Immutable X.
If we are in a bear market, one of the upsides is that it’s a lot easier to test without pressure and to build strong solutions. If Gamestop continues development they may be able to take advantage of their current customer base and transition them into the NFT space via their past and current interactions with Gamestop and the accounts they already hold.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Riding The Wave to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.