Bitcoin Price Pump Movement Grows Ahead of El Salvador’s Adoption
The potential coordinated price pump echoes previous online campaigns targeting meme stocks like GameStop Corp.
(Bloomberg) -- A growing movement on social media is calling for people to buy small amounts of Bitcoin in support of El Salvador’s plan to make the token legal tender.
Users on platforms including Twitter and Reddit are discussing plans to buy $30 worth of Bitcoin en masse on Sept. 7 to mark El Salvador’s Bitcoin law coming into effect. The potential coordinated price pump echoes previous online campaigns targeting meme stocks like GameStop Corp.
El Salvador has begun installing Bitcoin ATMs to allow citizens to convert the token into U.S. dollars, and the government has created a $150 million fund to back conversions of Bitcoin to U.S. dollars. Salvadorans will be able to download the government’s digital wallet, enter their ID number and receive $30 in Bitcoin, Finance Minister Alejandro Zelaya told local media last month.
It will be a challenge for users to actually coordinate and act out such a plan, said Vijay Ayyar, head of Asia Pacific with crypto exchange Luno in Singapore.
“Saying something and actually doing it are very different,” he said.
Bitcoin has been on a strong run of late, surging to almost $52,000 Monday to touch the highest level since May. That’s come amid a broader revival in the crypto sector from a rout earlier this year.
©2021 Bloomberg L.P.