first federal cryptocurrency bank opens in central America Chile-based Banco de la República Dominicana (BDR) is the first regulated bank in the Central American nation to operate as a virtual bank with the launch of cryptocurrency services. Two cryptocurrency ATMs have already been installed in the bank's headquarters in the Dominican capital, Santo Domingo, to serve clients who want to pay their bills or make a withdrawal, Reuters reported. The bank, which also serves other countries in the region, will start accepting payments in the digital currency from mid-January, while it plans to pay salaries in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to all its employees in the near future. In October 2017, it opened a micro-credit and savings account program for the government and companies to use cryptocurrencies to pay government bills, electricity bills, and other administrative costs. Bitcoin was trading at US$12,110.82 at the time of writing, up 2.61% on the day. Meanwhile, ether was trading at US$510.61, up 2.32% on