El Salvador plans to build the world’s first “Bitcoin City”, funded initially by bitcoin-backed bonds, said President Nayib Bukele.
El Salvador plans to build the world’s first “Bitcoin City”, funded initially by bitcoin-backed bonds, President Nayib Bukele said on Saturday, doubling down on his bet to harness the crypto currency to fuel investment in the Central American country.
Speaking at an event closing a week-long promotion of bitcoin in El Salvador, Bukele said the city planned in the eastern region of La Union would get geothermal power from a volcano and not levy any taxes except for value added tax (VAT).
“Invest here and make all the money you want,” Bukele, dressed all in white and wearing a baseball cap backwards, said in the beach resort of Mizata on Saturday. “This is a fully ecological city that works and is energised by a volcano.”
“If you want Bitcoin to spread over the world, we should build some Alexandrias,” said Bukele, a tech-savvy 40-year-old who in September proclaimed himself “dictator” of El Salvador on Twitter in an apparent joke.
Samson Mow, chief strategy officer of blockchain technology provider Blockstream, told the gathering the first 10-year issue, known as the “volcano bond”, would be worth $1 billion, backed by bitcoin and carrying a coupon of
“This is going to make El Salvador the financial center of the world,” he said.
After El Salvador adopted Bitcoin as legal tender, the government started reinvesting unrealized profits into several projects. Earlier this month, the government announced its plans to use some of the profits from its Bitcoin Trust to build 20 new schools. One of the purposes of these new facilities will be to educate locals about how cryptocurrencies work.
In October, President Nayib Bukele had announced plans to use the profits for a new veterinary hospital. However, some criticized this move, arguing that investment in medical facilities for humans was more urgent.
