• Cryptocurrency
  • Earnings
  • Enterprise
  • About TechBooky
  • Submit Article
  • Advertise Here
  • Contact Us
TechBooky
  • African
  • AI
  • Metaverse
  • Gadgets
Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
  • African
  • AI
  • Metaverse
  • Gadgets
Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
TechBooky
Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
Home Cloud

El Salvador’s $1.4 Billion Bitcoin City Plan Wobbles As Crypto Crashes

Olagoke Ajibola by Olagoke Ajibola
June 25, 2022
in Cloud, Cryptocurrency, Government
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Why El Salvador has adopted Bitcoin as legal tender - and what it means for crypto | Evening Standard

El Salvador’s President, Nayib Bukele has received huge criticism from concerned citizens after investing millions of dollars from public funds on bitcoin in a bid to build a $1.4 billion Bitcoin City – now that the Bitcoin market has collapsed massively.

Last year, President Bukele decided to make cryptocurrency legal tender in the country. As a result, he purchased about $US100 million ($145 million) in the digital currency thereby announcing plans to build a bitcoin city. According to President Bukele, his aim was to raise the funds for the new bitcoin city putting to sale about $US1 billion ($1.4 billion) of bitcoin-backed bonds. The community would be built at the base of a volcano that would provide geothermal energy and also be a source of power for the Bitcoin revolution. Despite the huge fund poured into the purchase of the nation’s 2300 bitcoins, none has been sold nor has any risen in value to make anywhere making a profit.

El Salvador $1b Bitcoin City gamble shaky as cryptocurrency market crashes | news.com.au — Australia's leading news site

In a bid to manage and salvage the situation the President made an additional $US200 million ($290 million) investment in a subsidised bitcoin wallet app, called Chivo. The app has been since expensive to roll out and run.

Several people have expressed deep concern, especially with the fall in digital currency currently sweeping without assurance to recoup investments. Many have questioned the President’s intention regarding Bitcoin city. Local economist Tatiana Marroqui has expressed serious concern about the money being spent, claiming this type of project is too risky. “We don’t know exactly when or with what money they’ve bought bitcoins,” Ms Marroqui said in the documentary “El Salvador’s Big Bitcoin Gamble.” “There are lots of questions about how that money is being spent. I know the country’s finances pretty well, and there is not even the smallest margin for publicly funded projects which are risky. The needs of the population are huge.” Ms Marroqui added “Building a Bitcoin City in one of the most under-developed areas in the country would be like creating a billionaire’s oasis in the middle of a desert of poverty. If he builds it, it’s going to be at the expense of huge sacrifices from the Salvadoran people.”

El Salvador $1b Bitcoin City gamble shaky as cryptocurrency market crashes | news.com.au — Australia's leading news site

According to BBC, earlier in January, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) urged El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukeleto to discontinue the use of Bitcoin as legal tender. IMF highlighted the “large risks associated with the use of Bitcoin on financial stability, financial integrity and consumer protection.” The IMF stressed that this decision would make it difficult for the country to get a loan from the institution. El Salvador became the first country to allow consumers to use the cryptocurrency in all transactions, alongside the US dollar.

Despite the enormity of criticisms flooding the president’s decision and evidence of bitcoin’s falling value, El Salvador’s Tourism Minister Morena Valdez insists that citizens trust President Bukele’s decisions to deliver a Bitcoin city someday. “We know that each of the president’s decisions is made at the right moment, people have a lot of trusts in his decisions and in how the country’s economy is going.” Ms Valdez said.

Other nations of the world are reportedly considering making moves just like El Salvador’s. One of such nations is one of the world’s least-developed countries, The Central African Republic which also reached a decision earlier this year to make Bitcoin its legal tender. The country’s president, Faustin-Archange Touadéra, described the digital currency as “universal money” while announcing the news on Twitter.

This year, Bitcoin and other digital tokens have suffered a massive eye-watering crash that has wiped trillions of dollars off the value of the cryptocurrency market and continues to pose a potential fall even as at the time of writing this article. So far this year, Bitcoin has a change of -53.96%. In the last two months alone it has lost about $1 trillion in value as investors ditched riskier assets in the face of high inflation and fears that interest rate raises by central banks will hamper growth.

El Salvador to build first 'Bitcoin City' backed by BTC bonds | Crypto News | Al Jazeera

In a recent tweet, President Bukele reassured his citizens of his decisions. The President said, “My advice: stop looking at the graph and enjoy life. If you invested in #BTC your investment is safe and its value will immensely grow after the bear market. Patience is the key.”

Related Posts:

  • Crypto Is The Answer To Financial Inclusion, Central…
  • Facebook laser
    El Salvador's President Says Bitcoin Investments Are…
  • car president
    CAR President Says Crypto Is The Answer To Financial…
  • control-centre
    El Salvador And Central African Republic, What Do…
  • Central African Republic, The First To Legally Adopt…
  • deepmind-illustration
    Five Reasons The Central African Republic Shouldn't…
  • Popular Bitcoin Family Reveals They’ve Had Bitcoin Losses Of Up To $1 Million This Year
    Popular Bitcoin Family Reveals They’ve Had Bitcoin…
  • maxresdefault (9)
    "Bitcoin Family" Says They Have Lost Over $1m So Far…

Discover more from TechBooky

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Tags: bitcoinbusinessCityCountrycryptocurrencyDecisionecommercegovernmentPresidentsecuritytwitterusers
Olagoke Ajibola

Olagoke Ajibola

Olagoke Ajibola is a creative writer and content producer with an eye for details and excellence. He has a demonstrated history of telling stories for TV, Film and Online. Aside from being fascinated by the power of imagination, his other interest are travel, sport, reading and meeting people.

BROWSE BY CATEGORIES

Select Category

    Receive top tech news directly in your inbox

    subscription from
    Loading

    Freshly Squeezed

    • Huawei Officially Launches HarmonyOS for PC May 10, 2025
    • Canada Nears Launch of Instant Payment Technology May 10, 2025
    • Threads Adds Dashboard for Post & Account Limits May 10, 2025
    • Many X Users are Experiencing Timeline Update Issues May 10, 2025
    • Legend Internet Launches Nigeria’s First Fibre-to-the-Room Service May 10, 2025
    • Over 300K Customers Leave 9mobile Over MTN Roaming Delay May 10, 2025

    Browse Archives

    May 2025
    MTWTFSS
     1234
    567891011
    12131415161718
    19202122232425
    262728293031 
    « Apr    

    Popular Tags

    africa (135) AI (497) android (367) app (717) Apple (576) artificial intelligence (419) business (482) china (132) cryptocurrency (209) ecommerce (122) enterprise (287) facebook (507) fintech (244) funding (121) gadget (558) gaming (201) google (709) government (469) instagram (173) internet (467) ios (291) iphone (246) meta (116) microsoft (369) mobile (352) new feature (384) nigeria (440) privacy (158) research (140) samsung (185) security (421) smartphone (277) social media (836) software (509) startup (419) streaming (174) telecom (242) tips (372) twitter (289) united states (216) users (158) videos (127) website (173) whatsapp (201) youtube (138)

    Quick Links

    • About TechBooky
    • Advertise Here
    • Contact us
    • Submit Article
    • Privacy Policy

    About Us

    TechBooky

    TechBooky is a social Tech blog with a special focus on the budding African Technology sector. TechBooky is currently based in Abuja, Nigeria.

    Recent News

    Huawei Officially Launches HarmonyOS for PC

    Huawei Officially Launches HarmonyOS for PC

    May 10, 2025
    Canada Nears Launch of Instant Payment Technology

    Canada Nears Launch of Instant Payment Technology

    May 10, 2025
    Advertisement Coming to Threads from Next Year

    Threads Adds Dashboard for Post & Account Limits

    May 10, 2025
    Many X Users are Experiencing Timeline Update Issues

    Many X Users are Experiencing Timeline Update Issues

    May 10, 2025
    Legend Internet Launches Nigeria’s First Fibre-to-the-Room Service

    Legend Internet Launches Nigeria’s First Fibre-to-the-Room Service

    May 10, 2025
    Over 300K Customers Leave 9mobile Over MTN Roaming Delay

    Over 300K Customers Leave 9mobile Over MTN Roaming Delay

    May 10, 2025
    • Login

    © 2021 Design By Tech Booky Elite

    Generic selectors
    Exact matches only
    Search in title
    Search in content
    Post Type Selectors
    • African
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Gadgets
    • Metaverse
    • Tips
    • About TechBooky
    • Advertise Here
    • Submit Article
    • Contact us

    © 2021 Design By Tech Booky Elite

    Discover more from TechBooky

    Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

    Continue reading

    We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Ok