A Bitcoin (BTC) evangelist in Lebanon took their love for Bitcoin to the next level. Said Nassar, an international business engineer, themed his wedding day around Satoshi Nakamoto’s innovation, Bitcoin. Each and every wedding guest received Satoshis (the smallest denomination of a Bitcoin) as a wedding gift for attending the Nassar family’s special day, while the theme of the wedding was volcanoes–a nod to El Salvador’s Bitcoin bonds, commonly known as the Volcano bonds. Nassar told Cointelegraph that he put a volcano stand in the wedding and “distributed gifts via the Lightning Network.” Indeed, under every cutlery set for the …

Bitcoin (BTC) sets people free. At least, that was the story at Lebanon’s first Bitcoin-themed escape room in Beirut. Lebanese Bitcoiners from the group Bitcoin du Liban took on the latest Bitcoin education challenge — Bitcoin Escape the System. The best part? The team of four snuck out of the escape room in the fastest time to date. Can’t wait to try this… tomorrow.#Bitcoin is growing in #Lebanon .@BitcoinduLiban @marco_bdl @Thomssmn @Rothmus https://t.co/v9tminHAy3 — Sooly⚡️سولي (@Sooly_Kobayashi) July 5, 2022 For the uninitiated, an “escape game” or “escape room” is a team game where players work together to solve puzzles, clues …

Lebanon’s central bank plans to launch a new digital currency in 2021 as part of a broader effort to combat a parallel economic and financial crisis that has engulfed the country. Central bank governor Riad Salameh told a gathering of officials Monday that “We must prepare a Lebanese digital currency project” as a way to shore up confidence in the banking system. "As for the monetary supply in the Lebanese market, it is estimated that there are $10 billion stored inside homes,” Salameh said, according to the state-run National News Agency. The central banker added that a digital currency project …

Israeli blockchain startup Orbs has published an open letter to French President, Emmanuel Macron. This letter promotes the use of blockchain technology to manage foreign aid following the tragic explosion in Beirut on August 4. Blockchain’s transparency and accountability could help reassure both private donors and governments that the financial aid they provide is being deployed effectively, it says. Catastrophic events such as those in Lebanon tend to spur pledges of much needed humanitarian aid from around the world. President Macron of Lebanese former colonial power, France, wasted no time in visiting the area and urging world leaders to accelerate …

Lebanon’s national currency continues to shed value amid the country’s deepening monetary crisis, with unofficial reports indicating that the Lebanese pound, or lira, has lost 50% of its purchasing power in less than two weeks. On Thursday, local crypto advocate Saifedean Ammous, author of The Bitcoin Standard, took to Twitter to assert that after “having lost half its value in the last 10 days, the Lebanese lira is now worth one satoshi” — comprising a historic low for the currency of roughly $0.000093. On June 21, Ammous noted that “Ten years ago, one Lebanese lira was worth 0.67 Bitcoin.” “Imagine …

Protesters in Lebanon have set fire to the central bank in Tripoli in a show of anger with the country’s deepening economic crises and stagnant political orthodoxy. Joyce Karam of United Arab Emirates-based media outlet TheNational reported June 11 that the Lebanese pound (LBP) is trading for more than 5,000 per $1 in spite of the country’s official peg of 1,507 per dollar— a 20% depreciation since April, and over 230% since the peg was respected in January. However, recent reports also indicate that an increasing number of protestors are embracing Bitcoin (BTC) as a means of bypassing Lebanon’s failing …

With Lebanon’s currency hitting new record lows of 4,000 Lebanese lira (LBP) per $1, chaotic prices are being listed by Lebanese Localbitcoins traders. As of this writing, spreads between listings on both sides of the order book appear to exceed 90%, leading to reports claiming that Bitcoin (BTC) is trading for $15,000 in Lebanon. The spreads appear to be fuelled by an extreme disparity between the market value and official peg of 1,507 lira per U.S. dollar. As such, BTC appears to be trading for a more modest 5% premium at $7,850. Lebanon’s currency plummets to all-time lows Lebanon’s currency …

Bitcoin (BTC) proponents are encouraging Lebanese citizens to swap fiat for crypto after it emerged the country’s banks would stay closed. Banks to open “once normalcy restored” In an ongoing Twitter debate which began on Oct. 24, commentators vented anger on behalf of Lebanon’s population, which has been without banking services for more than a week. Following civil unrest, banks everywhere closed their doors. Six working days later, a senior banking executive said the status quo would continue until conditions improved. “Once normalcy is restored, we are very confident that we can resume servicing our customers in full capacity,” Salim …

In order to boost the Lebanese startup scene, the United Kingdom, in collaboration with Lebanon's central bank, the Banque du Liban (BDL), has launched the UK Lebanon Tech Hub, a two-year international initiative looking to support entrepreneurship and the SME landscape, while stimulating the local economy. The tech hub will act as an accelerator and mentoring hub for local startups, and falls under the BDL's Circular 331, a larger program announced in August 2013, aiming to help boost Lebanese startups by injecting some US$400m in equity funding. In an inaugural event that occurred last Thursday, the UK Lebanon Tech Hub …