El Salvador plans first 'Bitcoin City,' financed by crypto bonds
- 21 Nov 2021
Gulf Today Report
Once again, the focus of the Bitcoin community this week is on El Salvador, the first country in the world to officially recognise the cryptocurrency as an official currency.
As part of “Bitcoin Week,” a series of events held in two conferences featuring a range of parties and meetings that gave industry experts and crypto-believers alike an opportunity to celebrate their loyalty to the digital token, the Bitcoin community wanted to underscore its commitment to changing the rules of the game globally.
Bitcoin Bonds
Speaking at an event marking the end of Bitcoin Week, El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele said Saturday that the country plans to build the world's first "Bitcoin City," which will initially be funded through Bitcoin bonds, increasing the Central American country's bet on the cryptocurrency.
Bukele said the planned city in the east of the country would get its power supply from Berkane and would not levy any taxes except for value-added tax.
"We will start financing in 2022, and the bonds will be available in 2022," Bukele told a crowd at the event.
Speaking alongside his agent, Samson Mao, chief strategist at blockchain technology provider Blockstream, said El Salvador will initially issue a $1 billion bond backed by bitcoin to begin raising funds for the planned city.
In September, El Salvador became the first country in the world to adopt Bitcoin as a legal currency.
Buying from the bottom
Wearing Bitcoin hats and T-shirts emblazoned with the cryptocurrency slogan "Buy from the Bottom," Bitcoin followers flocked to the Latin American country saying they weren't worried about recent price swings and that what they were doing was a long-term investment.
The focus of the week was the annual Bitcoin and Blockchain Conference in Latin America, a three-day weekend event that saw harsh criticism of the dominance of the US dollar and warnings of impending hyperinflation.