Bitcoin starts 2018 with a tumble

The Congress of El Salvador has approved a law that will classify bitcoin as legal tender in the Central American country, its president said, making it the world's first nation to adopt a cryptocurrency.

Chinese authorities have told all crypto mining to stop, citing speculation risk and power consumption concerns. The move has hurt the share prices of Bitcoin and others.

The price of Bitcoin dropped below the all-important $30,000-mark after China made several moves to rein in the cryptocurrency. The fall could trigger a sell-off, but experts say China isn't as important as it once was.

What's up with Bitcoin? It's down, dropping to its lowest level since January after China announced a crackdown on cryptocurrency mining. Is it, as stated, about going green and cooling it in the nation that's home to an estimated two-thirds of the energy-sucking giant computer servers that create virtual currencies? Or is it about reining in a cottage industry that is out of not only Beijing's control, but that of central banks and regulators the world over?

The US sanctions target officials from China's Hong Kong liaison office, which seeks to promote Chinese influence in the partly autonomous city.

Malaysian police have hit on a novel way to dispose of more than 1,000 bitcoin-mining machines seized in raids -- crushing the devices using a steamroller. Authorities on Borneo island discovered the machines, worth an estimated 5.3 million ringgit ($1.25 million), in crackdowns between February and April, and say they were powered using stolen electricity.

Managers in Germany are not feeling overly optimistic about the coming months, a major business confidence barometer shows. Two major concerns are clouding their outlook.

Twitter founder Jack Dorsey has claimed that Bitcoin will "unite the world".

In an effort to stem incidences of business failures in the corporate polity, H. Michael & Co. founder Dr. Adeyinka Hassan in commemoration of its 10th anniversary put together a conference tagged: Corporate Governance and Enterprise Development Conference. The well-attended conference examined the imperatives of corporate governance for the success of business enterprises in Nigeria, creating economic stability and business sustainability.

El Salvador has become the first country in the world to make Bitcoin legal tender, despite surveys showing widespread scepticism about the move. The government has invested more than $20 million in the cryptocurrency in recent days, saying it will open up access to banking for many Salvadorans. Bitcoin will be accepted for payments in parallel with the US dollar. Also today, millions of Americans have lost their unemployment benefits as several pandemic-era welfare programmes have expired.

The value of Bitcoin has plunged by more than 10 percent after El Salvador on Tuesday became the first country in the world to accept the cryptocurrency as legal tender. The launch was marred by protests and technical difficulties with the digital wallet app, which had to be taken offline for several hours. Also today, we report on tourism businesses in the southwest of France that have benefitted from the recent spell of good weather, which has prolonged their summer season.

El Salvador has become the first country in the world to adopt bitcoin as legal tender. The government says the cryptocurrency will save people money, but many residents are skeptical.