Mark Weaden
The nation made bitcoin its currency earlier this year and is now driving towards a cryptocurrency-fueled ‘Bitcoin City’
El Salvador was the country chosen to be this years’ host of the LatAm cryptocurrency festival, which was apt given the belief El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele has in digital currency. One of the revelations of the festival was the plan to build a cryptocurrency-based ‘Bitcoin City.’
El Salvador wants to turn the new city into a global crypto hub. Moreover, the reality is the Bitcoin City profit could be enough to drive the country’s economy to where Bukele and the citizens of El Salvador would want.
Bitcoin City Plans
The LatAm event was a huge success and saw industry speakers, including well-respected names and company executives, discuss the exciting future of digital currency. The announcement came from Bukele, claiming that the plan to build ‘Bitcoin City’ would be situated on the oceanside at the base of the Conchagua volcano.
According to Bukele, a bond offering is scheduled for 2022, which will be offered entirely in Bitcoin. The city will be built on a volcano to take advantage of geothermal energy, which will be used to power the city and Bitcoin mining plans. The government is already running a pilot Bitcoin mining venture at a geothermal power plant.
Investors will be given land and infrastructure by the government to develop the city. The only tax collected will be the value-added tax, with half of it being used to pay the municipal bonds and the rest for infrastructure and maintenance. Even better for potential citizens of Bitcoin City, there will be no property, income or municipal taxes, and the city will be entirely carbon neutral.
Attracting Foreign Investment
Bukele’s vision of Bitcoin City includes a global community. The aim is to attract foreign investment to help with the construction of the city, with the development of residential areas, malls, a port, restaurants, and much more planned for this unique project.
The government is planning to back bitcoin with a $150 million fund, aiming to incentivize El Salvadorans to start using crypto. The fact the President of the country is investing so much time and resources into developing bitcoin as a currency is a positive sign for investors that might be doubting the ambition of Bukele.
Bukele finished his speech at the LatAm cryptocurrency festival by saying "Invest here and earn all the money you want." If investment comes in, we could see the city under development quite soon.
