Bukele aims to fund the city's construction through bitcoin bonds. It will feature a main plaza that will appear like the bitcoin sign from above. The 40-year-old right-wing president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, is once again banking on bitcoin to move the nation forward. His dubious plan is, essentially, to construct a "Bitcoin City" powered by geothermal energy from a volcano to assist raise the cryptocurrency's profile and encourage its prevalent use.
El Salvador’s President Will Build a Volcano-powered Bitcoin City
Bukele said on Saturday that the nation's so-called Bitcoin City will be integrated into La Union, an area in the eastern part of El Salvador. Reuters reports that the city will not levy any taxes other than a value-added tax, or barrel, and include the main plaza that will look like a bitcoin symbol from above. In addition, Bitcoin City will be circular and consist of an airport along with property and business areas.
It will, naturally, be a location for bitcoin mining, an energy-intensive job that will be facilitated by the Conchagua Volcano, the El Salvadorian federal government stated in a press release. Conchagua includes two overlapping stratovolcanoes and overlooks the Gulf of Fonseca.
Bukele revealed his preparation for Bitcoin City in remarks at an event following a week of promotion of bitcoin in El Salvador, which ended up being the very first nation to recognize bitcoin as a nationwide currency in September.
" Invest here and make all the cash you want," Bukele said. "This is a completely eco-friendly city that works and is stimulated by a volcano."
At the occasion, professionals described that the nation would issue $1 billion in "bitcoin bonds" in 2022 to raise funds to build Bitcoin City. The bonds will be released on the liquid network, a bitcoin sidechain network, and carry a nominal yield of 6.5%.
Blockstream, which handles the liquid network, said that $500 million of the funds raised will be devoted to facilities for the city and bitcoin mining in the region. The other $500 million will be utilized to buy more bitcoin.
It's tough to imagine that the citizens of El Salvador, one of the poorest countries in Latin America, will be as delighted for Bitcoin City as Bukele or his bitcoin posse. The digital currency's rollout was accompanied by problems, which sustained protests against the government, and polls have discovered that residents watch out for their president's passion for bitcoin.
At the end of the day, the people of El Salvador would certainly see more benefits if their president focused more on changing and enhancing their lives instead of focusing on an incredibly unstable digital currency. The chances don't look excellent.
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