El Salvador Says It Has No Ties to FTX

A rumor was swirling around online that the nation of El Salvador in Central America had tons of bitcoin locked away in the FTX exchange, which has now filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. However, many industry heads – including Changpeng Zhao of Binance, the company that at one point was likely to purchase FTX and save it from its present string of problems – are saying this is not true, and that the country is not in any danger.

El Salvador Says It’s Not Tied to the Failed Exchange

El Salvador is a rare region in that it has banked everything on digital currency over the last year. Initially labeling bitcoin legal tender in September of 2021, it was announced the world’s number one digital currency by market cap could be used alongside assets like USD to purchase everyday goods and services. This meant anyone could walk into a store or business somewhere in the country and purchase something with bitcoin, and those in charge had no choice but to accept it.

The move was met with heavy controversy as organizations such as the World Bank refused to help El Salvador with the implementation of its bitcoin agenda, citing the asset as too volatile and risky to be taken seriously. In addition, many people rioted in the streets of San Salvador, the nation’s capital, claiming that they didn’t appreciate having bitcoin forced upon them. They were concerned about the all the malicious and criminal activity that is often tied to BTC, and they didn’t want to see their country’s finances go up in flames.

Despite all these setbacks, El Salvador continued its journey as though nothing was happening, and while things initially appeared positive, the collapse of BTC has really put El Salvador on the edge.

The good news is that with these present rumors being debunked, it can be said that the country has bene smart when it comes to finding valid arenas in which to store its money. These arenas did not include the now failed digital currency exchange FTX, which is on the verge of filing bankruptcy and disappearing from the crypto industry for good.

Changpeng Zhao addressed rumors that the nation held bitcoin on the FTX exchange through the following tweet:

Man, the amount of misinformation is insane. I exchanged messages with President Nayib a few moments ago. He said, ‘We don’t have any bitcoin in FTX, and we never had any business with them. Thank God!’

Responding to Misinformation?

The conversation was in direct response to a tweet posted by bitcoin bull and billionaire hedge fund manager Mike Novogratz, who wrote the following on social media:

I read – I don’t know if it’s true – that the El Salvadorian government’s crypto was on FTX, and they’re calling for the extradition of Sam [Bankman-Fried].

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