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Binance ‘s CEO Visits El Salvador. What Will He Meet President Bukele About?

It was about time that Binance ’s CEO, Changpeng Zhao, visited El Salvador. His company is the biggest cryptocurrency exchange in the world and El Salvador is the first country to adopt bitcoin as legal tender, why did this take so long? According to the Secretariat of Communications of the Presidency of the Republic of El Salvador, Binance’s CEO is visiting the country “along with other entrepreneurs, who are interested in knowing the investment possibilities.”

Hoy llegó a El Salvador el CEO y fundador de @BinanceES, Changpeng Zhao (@cz_binance), junto a otros empresarios, quienes están interesados en conocer las posibilidades de inversión, en el primer país del mundo que adoptó el #Bitcoin como moneda de curso legal. 🇸🇻 pic.twitter.com/XBYVwyZ8Dd

— Secretaría de Comunicaciones 🇸🇻 (@ComunicacionSV) March 23, 2022

What will Changpeng Zhao meet President Bukele about? Reuters caused quite the commotion when they tried to guess.

Related Reading | Binance’s CZ Wants Entrepreneurs To Create Coins. Does His Argument Make Sense?

What Did Reuters Say About Binance ’s CEO Visit To El Salvador?

As far as Reuters is concerned, CZ is visiting El Salvador to assist them with the issuance of the volcano bonds. They literally said:

“El Salvador is seeking support from cryptocurrency exchange Binance for its implementation of bitcoin as legal tender and the issuance of bitcoin bonds, the Central American country’s ambassador to the United States said on Wednesday.”

Is that what he’s here about, though? In the closest source we found, EFE quotes Mayorga telling “local media,” “We need businessmen his stature to support the issue of subscription to the volcano bonds.” In the ambassador’s Twitter account, Milena Mayorga welcomes Changpeng Zhao, CEO of Binance, “with the largest cryptocurrency wallet in the world.” Don’t ask.

Hemos dado la bienvenida a Changpeng Zhao @cz_binance, CEO de @binance, con la wallet de criptodivisas más grande del mundo.#LibertadEconómica #Bitcoin🇸🇻 pic.twitter.com/PBExfF2Lwc

— Milena Mayorga (@MilenaMayorga) March 23, 2022

According to Reuters, “Mayorga said Zhao’s visit was a vote of confidence in Bukele’s decision to adopt bitcoin as legal tender last September, as well as its plan to issue bitcoin-backed bonds.” According to her own tweets, they discussed, “strategic projects such as Bitcoin City, Surf City among others, was what we shared with the delegation of investors from Binance and companies.”

Proyectos estratégicos como #BitcoinCity, #SurfCity entre otros, fue lo que compartimos a la delegación de inversionistas de @binance y empresas que nos acompañan en esta 13 misión de negocios. pic.twitter.com/l6TOJNklAm

— Milena Mayorga (@MilenaMayorga) March 24, 2022

Who’s That Dark Figure Behind Binance ’s CEO?

The visit of one of the great businessmen of our time is most likely a positive for El Salvador. However, who’s that behind him? Could it be…? A pseudonymous Twitter user provides the necessary blown up pictures:

pic.twitter.com/1B38pZkyjW

— mutatrum (@mutatrum) March 23, 2022

That’s right, notorious lurker Brock Pierce. Of course, he is one of the “other entrepreneurs.” If you squint, you can also see him in one of Milena Mayorga’s pictures. Let’s remember what our sister site Bitcoinist reported the first time that the EOS creator lied his way into the Presidential Palace: 

“Something is rotten in the state of El Salvador. The first nation to declare BTC as legal tender received no other than the infamous Brock Pierce. An “Official Delegation of Bitcoin Ambassadors” reportedly met with President Bukele and other government officials. However, is there such thing as an “official delegation” of a decentralized protocol? No, there isn’t. And the whole Bitcoin community is up in arms about the situation.”

And just like that, Brock Pierce is back in San Salvador. Who would’ve thought?

BNB price chart on BinanceUS | Source: BNB/USD on TradingView.com
President Bukele Responds To The Rumors

In a since-deleted tweet, Bitcoin Magazine echoed Reuters’ take on the nature of Binance CEO’s visit to El Salvador. President Bukele asked them to “please don’t spread Reuters FUD. The Bitcoin Volcano Bonds will be issued with Bitfinex. The short delay in the issuance is only because we are prioritizing internal pension reform and we have to send that to congress before.”

I’m meeting with @cz_binance tomorrow to discuss OTHER issues, not the Volcano Bonds 🌋

Unless he wants to buy some, of course 😉#Bitcoin fixes FUD!

— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) March 23, 2022

To that, President Bukele added “I’m meeting with Changpeng Zhao tomorrow to discuss OTHER issues, not the Volcano Bonds. Unless he wants to buy some, of course.” And Binance CEO responded, “Looking forward to it. Plenty to discuss.” And, to be fair, Reuters also said that “Zhao praised El Salvador for taking on a pioneering role in the adoption of bitcoin and said Bukele’s presidency would be remembered in “heroic” terms for its bold bet on the future.”

Related Reading | Binance’s CZ Explains Why Banning Crypto Ads Won’t Affect Demand

Is Binance CEO’s visit to El Salvador priced in? Will the BTC price move because of it? What about BNB? Will Binance make moves in El Salvador? Does the market care about this historic visit? The next few days will answer all of those questions.

Featured Image: Changpeng Zhao in El Salvador, screenshot from this video | Charts by TradingView

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El Salvador Prepares Regulatory Framework To Issue Controversial Bitcoin Bonds

Will the plan work? Soon, the Bitcoin Bonds will get the legal foundation they need. In a recent TV interview Alejandro Zelaya, El Salvador’s Finance Minister, said they will send the necessary bills to Congress. Soon. Reportedly, El Salvador will initially issue $1B worth of bonds, which will have a ten-year maturity and carry a 6.5% coupon. The bitcoin that backs them will be locked for five years.

The project, announced by President Bukele at Labitconf 2021, includes plans to build Bitcoin City. More on that later. In a scheme worthy of MicroStrategy, El Salvador will spend half of the money on the construction of Bitcoin City and will buy Bitcoin with the other half. Will the plan work? Well, they have to sell the bonds first. And for those to exist, a regulatory framework is required.

BTC price chart for 01/06/2021 on OkCoin | Source: BTC/USD on TradingView.com
What Did El Salvador’s Finance Minister Say About The Bitcoin Bonds?

In an interview in the local TV show “Frente a Frente,” Zelaya announced the plan’s following steps. Reuters reports:

“El Salvador’s government will send to Congress about twenty bills covering financial markets and investment in securities to provide a legal foundation for issuing bitcoin bonds, Finance Minister Alejandro Zelaya said on Tuesday.”

The Finance Minister didn’t specify exactly when they will introduce the bills. According to El Salvador In English, Zelaya said, “This type of legislation is what we are going to send to the Legislative Assembly to be able to give legal scaffolding and legal certainty to all those who buy the Bitcoin bond.”

"El Salvador podría convertirse en un centro regional donde los demás países puedan emitir deuda, contamos con grandes ventajas como tener una economía dolarizada y ser de punta de lanza en materia cripto", expresa el Ministro @AlejandroZelay9 en @Frentea_Frente. pic.twitter.com/uHbEzx4A3c

— Ministerio de Hacienda (@HaciendaSV) January 4, 2022

Through the Ministry of Finance’s Twitter, they quote Zelaya being even more daring. “El Salvador could become a regional center where other countries can issue debt, we have great advantages such as having a dollarized economy and being pioneers regarding crypto.”

It’s to cover and guarantee the #Bitcoin #VolcanoBonds, but also a full re-engineering of the economy and of the way a nation state does business.

Everybody searching for freedom: this is the place to come 🇸🇻https://t.co/zupEKC3usB

— Nayib Bukele 🇸🇻 (@nayibbukele) January 5, 2022

Adding fuel to the fire, President Bukele said via Twitter, “It’s to cover and guarantee the Bitcoin Volcano Bonds, but also a full re-engineering of the economy and of the way a nation state does business.” Not satisfied with that bomb, he added, “Everybody searching for freedom: this is the place to come.”

What About Bitcoin City? Is That A Go?

The Bitcoin Bonds will finance the construction of Bitcoin City, but, what’s that exactly? When President Bukele announced El Salvador’s plans, NewsBTC timely reported: 

“According to Bukele, Bitcoin City will be a full-fledged metropolis with residential and commercial areas. It would also have shopping centers, restaurants, a port, an airport, and railway services. There would be no income, property, capital gains, or payroll taxes. Residents would, however, be subject to just value-added tax (VAT). This tax will go towards paying for the municipality’s bonds, public infrastructure, and city maintenance.”

However, more recently, an investigative report by podcaster Anita Posch cast doubt upon the Bitcoin Bonds and the whole enterprise:

“Apparently, the seemingly advanced plan for Bitcoin City was a collage. “At least some of the Bitcoin City presentation slides were downloaded from the internet and there was no detailed plan behind the announcement.” Not only that, the structure behind the Bitcoin bonds that will finance the whole operation was also improvised. “The way the Bitcoin bonds will work was finally decided only a few minutes before Samson Mow took the stage.”

However, the plan is a go, and Blockstream’s Samson Mow is all-in on it. He recently tweeted the trailer for an upcoming documentary on El Salvador and its Bitcoin City plans. In the tweet, he threw an extremely optimistic, “Bitcoin is going to save the world and it starts here in El Salvador.”

Here's an amazing trailer from @anna_tutova for a new documentary on everything that's happening in El Salvador and #BitcoinCity. #Bitcoin is going to save the world and it starts here in El Salvador. 🇸🇻🌋🚀@nayibbukele @WilliamSorianoH @fulloa51 @maxkeiser pic.twitter.com/GcBUV8d9RN

— Samson Mow (@Excellion) December 29, 2021

Will the plan work? Is Bitcoin City a real project or a hastily put together mess? Do the Bitcoin Bonds offer a high enough return? Or are the Bitcoin Bonds too risky? Wouldn’t it be better for an investor to just buy bitcoin with that money? Or are we missing something? 

To answer all those questions and more, El Salvador needs a regulatory framework to issue the Bitcoin Bonds. And the roughly twenty bills that guarantee that are on their way to Congress.

Featured Image by Wilson Edilberto Santana Suarez on Unsplash | Charts by TradingView

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IMF Report On El Salvador Is Positive… Except For Everything Bitcoin-Related

In a recent report, the IMF praises the way El Salvador handled the COVID-19 situation and announces that their economy grew 10% in 2021. The International Monetary Fund also recognizes El Salvador’s government efforts to reduce crime, “diversify the energy matrix, foster economic diversification, and enhance financial inclusion.” However, when it comes to Bitcoin, the IMF is completely against it. As they should. Because Bitcoin renders the IMF irrelevant.

But first, let’s learn what the report titled “El Salvador: Staff Concluding Statement of the 2021 Article IV Mission” is about:

“A Concluding Statement describes the preliminary findings of IMF staff at the end of an official staff visit (or ‘mission’), in most cases to a member country. Missions are undertaken as part of regular (usually annual) consultations under Article IV of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement.”

Anyway, let’s go to the IMF’s wacky opinions about Bitcoin.

BTC price chart for 11/23/2021 on Oanda | Source: BTC/USD on TradingView.com
What Does The IMF Think About Bitcoin As Legal Tender?

After praising El Salvador’s efforts to foster “financial inclusion and raise growth,” the IMF attacks the very tool that the country’s government is using to accomplish that.

“Given Bitcoin’s high price volatility, its use as a legal tender entails significant risks to consumer protection, financial integrity, and financial stability. Its use also gives rise to fiscal contingent liabilities. Because of those risks, Bitcoin should not be used as a legal tender. Staff recommends narrowing the scope of the Bitcoin law and urges strengthening the regulation and supervision of the new payment ecosystem.”

Translation: The IMF can’t even think of one good reason for Bitcoin not to be legal tender. One Bitcoin is one Bitcoin. The cryptocurrency’s volatility is intrinsically related to the assets we compare it with. In this case, the US Dollar. It’s also important to remember that Bitcoin is legal tender in El Salvador ALONGSIDE the US Dollar. If people don’t want volatility, they can easily exchange all of their money into the other currency considered legal tender.

The IMF also conveniently ignores the fact that Bitcoin’s volatility can bring positive results for its users. And that their other option, the US Dollar, is going through an inflationary period like no other. Plus, when the US government prints more money, its citizens get certain benefits out of it. But El Salvador doesn’t. A Dollarized country that’s not in control of the money printer gets its purchasing power decreased by relentless inflation, but doesn’t get the airdrops and inorganic money artificially stimulating the economy.

Does The IMF Have Any Other Advice?

Of course, they do. First, they praise El Salvador’s efforts in financial inclusion. Then, the IMF recommends implementing the exact same measures that keep 70% of their population out of the financial system.

“Stronger regulation and oversight of the new payment ecosystem should be immediately implemented for consumer protection, anti-money laundering and counter financing of terrorism (AML/CFT), and risk management.”

Why are people in El Salvador unbanked? Do they think it’s by choice? Is the IMF unaware that their outdated and inefficient methods cause the bottleneck? Bad actors have incentives to bypass AML and KYC procedures. They do it with ease. Normal people can’t produce all those documents. And for banks, the cost of processing all that data makes acquiring a new client expensive. There are no incentives to serve the lower-income population.

“Recently announced plans to use the proceeds of new sovereign bond issuances to invest in Bitcoin, and the implications of trading more broadly in Bitcoin, will require a very careful analysis of implications for, and potential risks to, financial stability.”

Translation: What’s all this about a Bitcoin City?!!!!! And they’re building a pet hospital?! ALERT! ALERT!

The US Pauses Relations With El Salvador

In semi-related news, Reuters informs that U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Jean Manes said in local TV that relationships between the two countries are on hold. “Obviously we’re on a bit of a pause because the government of El Salvador is not giving a signal that it has an interest in our relationship,” she said. “On behalf of the White House, the State Department, we’ve offered a bridge, and the (Salvadoran) government decided not to take it. As far as we’re concerned, we’re interested in having the best relationship with El Salvador.”

Sure, Manes. That sounds totally believable. Nothing suspicious here.

Featured Image: AbsolutVision on Pixabay | Charts by TradingView

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El Salvador Announces World’s First Bitcoin City, Backed By $1B Bitcoin Bonds

El Salvador is currently the only country in which Bitcoin (BTC) is legal tender. This move has witnessed many developments, as well as some pushback. Amid protests, technical glitches, and inevitable market volatility, El Salvador continues to drive BTC adoption.

Related Reading | There Are More People Using Bitcoin Wallets Than Bank Accounts, Says El Salvador President

In its latest Bitcoin adoption move, the Central American country plans to build a city based on the world’s largest cryptocurrency. President Nayib Bukele announced the Bitcoin City initiative at El Salvador’s Bitcoin Week conference on Saturday night. This conference is a celebration of Bitcoin’s mainstream adoption in the country.

In partnership with crypto firms Blockstream and BitFinex, Bukele plans to issue $1 billion in tokenized USD-denominated 10-year bonds to fund this project.

The Proposed Bitcoin City

Paolo Ardoino, Bitfinex CTO, says the exchange will support the initiative by launching a securities platform to hold the bonds.

Finex will launch a securities platform that will be the home of ES #bitcoin bonds and soon many local and foreign digital assets offerings developing new digital asset regulation for the country!El Salvador, @bitfinex and @blockstream are making history together.

— Paolo Ardoino (@paoloardoino) November 21, 2021

Blockstream Chief Security Officer Samson Mow also clarified the feasibility of sourcing the $1 billion Bitcoin bonds.
“With Bitfinex, they have a lot of whales. I don’t see a problem filling up a $1 billion bond.”

In an announcement by Blockstream, Mow also said that the $1 billion will be split into two parts. $500 million will go towards building energy and Bitcoin mining infrastructure in the region. The other $500 million worth of BTC will be locked up for five years. Mow further stated that after the five-year lock-up period, El Salvador would start selling some of the bitcoin used to fund the bond to give investors an “additional coupon,”
“This is going to make El Salvador the financial center of the world,” he said.

BTC trading at $58.866K | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

The Salvadoran president additionally said that the bonds will be available in 2022. He plans on locating the proposed Bitcoin City near a volcano. The idea, he said, is to provide energy for both the city and bitcoin mining.

According to Bukele, Bitcoin City will be a full-fledged metropolis with residential and commercial areas. It would also have shopping centers, restaurants, a port, an airport, and railway services. There would be no income, property, capital gains, or payroll taxes. Residents would, however, be subject to just value-added tax (VAT). This tax will go towards paying for the municipality’s bonds, public infrastructure, and city maintenance.

“In #BitcoinCity, we will have digital and technological education. Geothermal energy for the entire city and efficient and sustainable public transport” said Bukele.

El Salvador’s Infrastructure Development Projects

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.

Related Reading | New York Mayor Says Cryptocurrencies Should Be Taught In Schools

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.

Featured image by Shutterstock, Chart from TradingView.com