👀 Big BTC news

El Salvador's big crypto move, India's 5G episode ensues, Vault Platform raises Series A, and some more updates.

the mesha tribe

Jun 07, 2021

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Read Time: 932 words, 4:39 minutes.

There’s so much to cover today so let’s get started.

First up,

Market Snapshot 📈

Sensex: 52,328.51 (+0.44%) ↑

Nifty 50: 15,751.65 (+0.52%) ↑

Dow Jones: 34,756.39 (+0.52%) ↑

Nasdaq 100: 13,770.77 (+1.78%) ↑

Bitcoin: $36,595

Top Stories 📰

1. Bitcoin to become a legal tender in El Salvador 🔥

During the Bitcoin 2021 conference in Miami, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele said that he plans to make Bitcoin a legal tender.

“In the short term, this will generate jobs and help provide financial inclusion to thousands outside the formal economy,” said Bukele, who plans to introduce the legislation by next week. If passed by Congress, the decision would make El Salvador the world's first country to formally adopt the virtual currency.

While elaborating on his plan, Bukele said it would open financial services to the 70% of Salvadorans who don't have bank accounts and would allow over two million Salvadorans abroad to send back $6 billion to their families each year. He also said that 1% of Bitcoin investment would push up the country's GDP by 25%.

The announcement comes in the backdrop of growing regulatory scrutiny by the US and China, which recently blocked some crypto influencer accounts on its social-media service Weibo. The move further pushed down Bitcoin prices, which fell 5.3% to around $35,220. Even Square Inc's $5 million investment to build a solar-powered Bitcoin mining facility in the US couldn't reverse the drop.

Why it matters? This is an unusually bold move for El Salvador, which uses the US dollar as its central legal tender. Since the country's economy is heavily dependent on remittances from abroad, a shift to Bitcoin would allow Salvadorans living abroad to send money without paying hefty taxes and other fees.

2. What a "totally misplaced" claim! 😪

In another win for 5G in India, Cellular Operators' Association of India (COAI) — an industry body representing large telcos like Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea, and Reliance Jio — asserted that concerns regarding 5G's adverse impact on health are "totally misplaced." The association stated that the new technology would be a "game changer" and would result in an "exponential increase in benefits" for India's economy.

It further argued that India has the most stringent norms and standards for electromagnetic radiation limit in the sector compared to the world, adding that radiation and impact concerns are misplaced. "These are fallacious fears and this always happens whenever a new technology is introduced," COAI chief S P Kochhar said.

The comments come three days after Delhi High Court dismissed actor-environmentalist Juhi Chawla's lawsuit against setting up 5G technology and imposed a fine of Rs. 20 lakh on her and two other appellants for abusing the process of law. (Fun fact: the hearing was such a snoozefest that one person started singing songs from her films during the hearing!)

The anti-5G movement isn't just limited to India. Previously, conspiracy theorists have falsely linked the testing of 5G technology to the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to burning down cell towers throughout the US, India, and several European countries. The WHO later debunked such claims, saying that "viruses cannot travel on radio waves/mobile networks."

Why it matters? Last month, the Department of Telecommunications allowed private telcos to conduct six-month-long 5G trials and test their applications in several sectors in urban, semi-urban and rural areas in India. The department hopes to penetrate the untapped market and increase 5G adoption throughout the country.

3. Today’s big deals 🎉

Vault Platform raises Series A
Vault Platform, a misconduct reporting and case management company, has raised an $8.2 million Series A funding round, led by Google's AI-focused fund Gradient Ventures. Kindred Capital and Angular Ventures participated in the round, along with new investor Illuminate Financial. The company had previously raised a $4.2M seed round back in 2019. Founded in 2018, Vault Platform provides a range of SaaS tools to small- and large-sized companies to help them in managing internal ethics and integrity issues. It has around 30 customers in the UK and the US, including big names like Airbnb, Lemonade, G2, Kavak, and OVO Energy. The company now wants to work on its 'GoTogether' feature — which allows users to submit misconduct reports to the appropriate internal bodies — and expand its application to entire divisions and groups using natural language processing.
China Youran Dairy seeks $799 million in Hong Kong IPO
China Youran Dairy Group to raise around $799 million in its Hong Kong IPO, along with its shareholder, private equity firm PAG. According to the prospectus, the company plans to sell 715.4 million shares at somewhere around HK$6.98 to HK $8.66 each, with investor orders starting Monday. The announcement comes as Hong Kong's first-time share sales dwindle amid volatile markets and rising inflation concerns. The offer will likely price the shares on June 10, and trading will begin by June 18 in Hong Kong. Two investors — Citic Prudential and Harvest Private Wealth — have already subscribed to 6.94% of shares. Last year, the company reported $241 million in revenues. Youran Dairy plans to use the funds to build new dairy farms, buy dairy cattle stock, and reserve the remainder for working capital.