El Salvador's Bitcoin Bonds Could Be Lauching Soon

Its been one year since El Salvador launched its ambitious plan to integrate Bitcoin into its economy, though many of the initiatives have yet to materialize.

President Nayib Bukele’s promised “Bitcoin City,” the bitcoin bond-funded hub that will run on volcanic power, has been stalled by a political blockade.

The unique ‘volcano bonds,’ as President Bukele calls them, once described as sovereign, are now securitized corporate blockchain bonds. If they get past the obstacles, it will be the first of its kind.

Originally planned to launch in March of this year, the rollout of the bonds was delayed to the 1st of May, with it eventually being shelved indefinitely.

The bonds, which only require a minimum investment of $100, were cited by officials as being put on hold due to the war in Ukraine causing a global financial crisis and later the collapse of the price in most cryptocurrencies leading to deflated interest.

Rumors are swirling that the launch and approval will still come before 2023. When the digital securities bill is finally passed through congress, plans for tokenized bonds will begin to go into motion.

“We’ve had confirmation from senior government officials that the current draft of the law is final,” Paolo Ardoino, chief technology officer at Bitfinex Securities, which will be the technology provider for the Volcano Token, the digitized form of the debt offering which Bitfinex is refraining from calling a ‘bond.’

“We are confident that the law will obtain approval from Congress in the coming weeks, assuming that the country has the necessary stability for such legislation to pass,” Ardoino added.

When the bill is passed, Bitfinex will apply for a digital securities license to operate in El Salvador, Ardoino said.

Bitfinex Customers, who are not located in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada due to the fact that the exchange is banned in those jurisdictions, will be able to purchase Volcano Tokens.

The exchange plans for a significant retail interest in the asset, as larger corporations are prohibited from participating, a spokesperson from Bitfinex said.

Though El Salvadors is struggling to integrate Bitcoin into its economy, many within the crypto industry have called its adoption of the digital asset the main reason behind its recent suge in tourism.

According to data from the Ministry of Tourism, El Salvador attracted 1.2 million tourists in 2021 and 1.1 million in the first half of 2022.

As El Salvador continues its quest to become a Bitcoin-first city, initiatives like its Volcanic bonds will be pivotal for the country's future success, especially as questions of its leader's true intentions have begun to worry some of its citizens.