Cryptocurrency sales surged on Tuesday, with bitcoin down nearly 4%, while its smaller rival, ether, posted a drop of more than 6%.
Bitcoin, the world’s largest and most popular cryptocurrency, fell 4% to $50,516 after rising above $52,000 in mid-May in Asian trading. Ether is down more than 6% to $3,666.
El Salvador’s President Najib Bukila said on Monday that his country now owns 400 units of bitcoin from a day earlier. officially approved With US dollars as legal tender.
Data from Refinitiv Eikon shows bitcoin temporarily surged more than 1.49% to over $52,680 on Monday evening, as Reuters analysts expected the cryptocurrency to head towards the $56,000-$56,300 zone.
Earlier on Monday, Palestinian-born President Bokela revealed that El Salvador had bought his first 200 bitcoins on Twitter, adding that “our brokers will buy a lot as the deadline approaches.”
Then he tweeted, “We now have 400 bitcoins.”
El Salvador is set to legalize bitcoin today, September 7, a move that its agent said will save El Salvador millions of dollars in commissions on money sent home.
But polls show that Salvadorans are skeptical about bitcoin’s use, as well as wary of the cryptocurrency’s volatility, which critics say could raise regulatory and financial risks.
