Economy

El Salvador's bitcoin decision
Backlash for bitcoin in El Salvador after IMF agreement

El Salvador's venture with bitcoin as legal tender has encountered a patrol. This after the country signed a new loan agreement of 1.4 billion dollars, equivalent to 15 billion kronor, with the International Monetary Fund IMF. The BBC reports.

Since 2021, bitcoin has been a so-called legal tender in El Salvador, which requires companies to accept the cryptocurrency for payments. After the agreement with the IMF, however, it will be up to the companies themselves to decide whether they accept bitcoin.

"The potential risks surrounding the bitcoin project will decrease significantly," writes the IMF in a comment.

Crypto market
FI chief's warning about crypto: "High volatility"

The hope is that the EU's new crypto rules in the so-called Mica regulation, which will come into force at the turn of the year, will make the area safer. But the uncertainty surrounding the supply will remain high, says FI director Daniel Barr in DN.

– The risk with cryptocurrencies is that they are fraught with very high volatility and prices fluctuate greatly, warns Daniel Barr.

He refers to an FI survey from last spring that shows that savers have difficulty timing the fluctuations. Over half of the 200,000 who have traded in crypto certificates in the past six years had made losses, according to Barr.

The largest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, passed $100,000 for the first time earlier in December.

Christmas
Amazon Christmas strike: “Blame the company’s insatiable greed”Economy

Today, around 10,000 Amazon employees in the US are going on strike. A total of six factories in four different states are affected, US media report.

Behind the strike is the Teamsters, one of the largest unions in the US, which is demanding higher wages and better working conditions. In a post on the X platform, the union describes it as the largest strike against Amazon in history.

“If your package is delayed during the holidays, you can blame Amazon’s insatiable greed,” writes chairman Sean O’Brien.

However, Amazon states that the strike will not affect operations, since the number of strikers only corresponds to barely 1 percent of the company’s employees, according to CNN. The company also claims that the Teamsters are deliberately misleading the public with their demands and statements.
 

Tech
Huawei now the largest supplier of wrist-worn wearable tech

Fresh figures from the analysis company IDC show that Huawei is the largest supplier of wrist-worn wearable tech devices in the world. The data applies to the first three quarters of 2024. Huawei delivered no less than 23.6 million units in the segment during the period, which primarily consists of smart watches and fitness bracelets. This gives Huawei a market share of 16.9 percent.

In second place is Apple with 22.5 million units shipped and a market share of 16.2 percent.

Xiaomi comes in third place with 20.5 million units shipped and a market share of 14.7 percent.