Key facts:
Paolo Ardoino, CTO of Tether, urged leaders of the Bitcoin community to make donations.
Gangs in El Salvador murdered more than 80 people in one weekend.
The creator of the stable cryptocurrency tether (USDT) and Bitfinex, one of the main cryptocurrency exchanges, donated 25 bitcoin (BTC), or approximately USD 1,000,000, to a fund created by themselves to help families affected by the pandemic. gang violence in El Salvador.
For Paolo Ardoino, CTO of both companies, it is important to demonstrate support for families in El Salvadorsince –in his opinion– the Central American country and its president Nayib Bukele have initiated a “heroic fight for financial freedom by investing in bitcoin as a better, fair and resilient monetary system for the future of the country.”
It is worth remembering that, since 2021, El Salvador was the first country to adopt bitcoin as legal tender.
“Now more than ever, families in El Salvador need our support,” said Ardonio.
According to the senior executive, Donated funds will be delivered jointly with government and community organizations. In addition, they will be subject to “strict control” to ensure fair distribution, he added.
In another of his messages, Ardoino made a call to the leaders of the Bitcoin community who have paraded through El Salvador, to take photos with Bukele and show their support. In that sense, he considers that now is the “time to act” with facts and show support by donating BTC instead of buying private jets and Lamborghinis.
Last March, Changpeng Zhao, CEO of the Binance exchange, also known as CZ in the bitcoin community, and Mexican billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego, met with Bukele in El Salvador, as reported by CriptoNoticias.
The addresses available to donate bitcoin were also posted on Twitter by Ardoino, those are:
- BTC: bc1qesjcgqqh2js6uf03rwf3ls4s4yv6r4w4gpxvun
- USDT-ETH: 0x2441fB1CE28AaA4D1b31B0348c57F76Ff2D02647
- USDT-TRON: TJMHb81caAy6Gaomck6diFewLb2QnPAX8W
- USDT-Liquid: VJL9sY3DjDCqBdNFy1tNv1qHveSfK9DeV1XzAe6QvqFrnQYXjQhPyd1GoLWU9THyV3JZLoQCjL1rCekN
State of emergency prevented Bukele from participating in the Bitcoin Conference
It should be remembered that, since last March, the National Assembly of El Salvador, at the request of Bukele, declared a state of emergency in the country. The measure comes after more than 80 murders in one weekend at the hands of the gang members of the group known as Mara Salvatruchas, also called Maras.
According to data provided by Bukele himself on Twitter, until now have been arrested more than 9,000 gang members in 15 days and a number of 0 homicides.
Even due to the emergency that El Salvador is experiencing, Bukele had to cancel his participation in the Bitcoin 2022 Conference, which was held in Miami last week. Through a letter, the president indicated that there were “unforeseen circumstances” that required his presence “full time” as president of the nation.