Bitcoin bruised after chaotic debut as legal tender in El Salvador

TOKYO - Bitcoin licked its wounds on Wednesday, a day after its heaviest losses in 2-1/2 months as El Salvador's historic adoption of the crypto asset as legal tender caused chaos online and on the street.

The coin last traded at $46,560, having endured wild trade the day before in which it hit a near four-month high of $52,956 before plunging 11.1 percent, its largest fall since June 2.

Analysts said the sharp retreat was partly due to investors who had bought the rumour of El Salvador's move now selling the fact.

"I think there was some anticipation building ahead of that event (El Salvador), similar to what we saw ahead of Coinbase listing on Nasdaq," said Henrik Andersson, chief investment officer at Apollo Capital, a crypto asset fund in Melbourne, Australia.

At one point on Tuesday, the digital currency fell as much as 18.6 percent, wiping out more than $180 billion from the market.

It was a historical day for bitcoin as El Salvador's experiment of making it legal tender got off to a bumpy start.

Technological glitches hampered its use while street protests by mistrustful citizens broke out in the Central American country.

As bitcoin wobbled, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele said his government purchased an additional 150 bitcoins on Tuesday, worth around $7 million.

"That has underscored the difficulty in trying to protect the value of bitcoin as its own currency," said Nana Otsuki, chief economist at Monex Securities. "The buying didn't seem to be effective in halting its fall."

Amid the trading frenzy, major U.S. cryptocurrency exchanges Coinbase Global Inc, Kraken and Gemini struggled with delays in some transactions. All of them said their systems have since been restored.

Separately, the U.S. securities regulator has threatened to sue Coinbase Global if the crypto exchange proceeds with plans to launch a programme allowing users to earn interest by lending crypto assets. 

(Reporting by Hideyuki Sano, Anushka Trivedi; Editing by Sam Holmes)

-reuters-

First let me take a selfie, El Salvador's president tells UN

El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele, whose social media savvy helped win him power earlier this year, took a selfie before his maiden speech at the UN General Assembly, which he called "obsolete" and suggested scrapping.

In a dark suit and no tie, his hair slicked back in his signature style, the 38-year-old thanked the other leaders present and said he especially wanted to greet his wife and baby daughter sitting in the gallery.

"If you'll just bear with me a second," he then added, pulling out his iPhone 11, lifting it up to his grinning face and snapping a photo he later posted on Twitter to his 1.1 million followers.

"Believe me, many more people will see that selfie when I share it than will listen to this speech -- I hope I took a good one."

"A couple of images on Instagram can have more impact than any speech delivered in this assembly," he said, quipping that the annual summit of the world's leaders could be done by video-conference.

The conservative businessman and former mayor of the capital San Salvador was sworn into office in June in the small Central American country of 6.6 million people, tasked with turning around grinding poverty and rampant gang violence that are sending thousands fleeing to the United States.

He traded on his telegenic looks and promises of a break with the past, but critics have called him light on policy and substance.

TRUMP BROMANCE

On Wednesday, he held his first meeting with US President Donald Trump, a fellow prolific social media user and self-styled iconoclast whom Bukele has aggressively courted -- a contrast with his predecessor Salvador Sanchez Ceren, a leftist former guerrilla.

The 2 countries reached an agreement last week to curb illegal migration that opens the door for the United States to send refugees back to the violent Central American country, a move slammed by migrant rights advocates.

"For us, the United States is not only a partner and an ally, but also a friend," Bukele told reporters after that meeting.

"We're hoping that this meeting will only strengthen our relationship even more, and I think it will because, you know, President Trump is very nice and cool, and I'm nice and cool, too. We both use Twitter a lot, so, you know, we'll get along."

Talking to journalists on Thursday after his speech, he defended his show of bonhomie with the US leader.

"Someone made fun of the fact that I joked with Trump. Did they want me to come fight with him -- or for me put on a cranky face or something?"

On the controversial migration agreement, he appeared to agree that those Salvadorans fleeing to the US were involved in gangs.

"We've supported our natural and biggest ally," he said. "We've caught human traffickers, we've seized their money, their arms, false documents."

"El Salvador has to propose a positive migration, academic migration, business migration, work migration, not those with false documents or drugs."


source: news.abs-cbn.com

Mexico, Central America seek joint strategy on migrants as Trump looms

GUATEMALA CITY - The foreign ministers of Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala met on Monday to form a strategy to protect their migrants in the United States, in a show of regional solidarity following Donald Trump's win in the US presidential election.

Trump's election upset has sent shockwaves through Mexico and Central America, which rely heavily on U.S. remittances and bilateral trade with their rich northern neighbor.

Trump romped to victory in the Nov. 8 election by vowing to end illegal immigration and re-examine trade treaties that he said have led US firms to ship jobs south to lower-wage economies.

During his election campaign, Trump said he plans to build a wall along the US-Mexican border, insisting that Mexico will pay for it.

Many of the migrants bound for the United States hail from the poor nations of Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, and there are concerns that Trump's promise to deport millions would have grave repercussions in Central American countries with few jobs and shaky security.

On Monday, at a meeting in Guatemala City, the foreign ministers of the Central American countries asked Mexico for help to create a migrant protection network, liaise for coordination with US authorities, and to meet regularly for regional talks.

Claudia Ruiz Massieu, Mexico's foreign minister, said the US immigration policy remained unchanged at the moment, and added Mexico's focus on human rights and deepening bilateral links, including at the border, was unshaken.

"Mexico is in a situation of alertness, strengthening our services and capabilities to reach wherever our community is," she said.

Reuters reported last week that Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador had agreed seek support from Mexico, and work together to forge a joint strategy in response to Trump's surprise win.

With his inauguration set for Jan. 20, President-elect Trump is currently picking his cabinet.

source: news.abs-cbn.com