El Salvador’s finance minister has indicated that a Bitcoin-backed bond might be issued between March 15-20
El Salvador’s finance minister, Alejandro Zelaya, said on local media on Friday, March 11, that the nation is determining the optimum timing to launch its Bitcoin-backed bond.
Zelaya said on the Salvadoran television programme “Frente a Frente” that the launch might take place between March 15 and March 20 in the Central American nation.
According to Zelaya: “We are still finalising a few aspects, but everything is almost complete. Additionally, it is an issue of time. It is not that straightforward… This is a matter of time. Based on our observations of the market, we feel that March 15-20 is an appropriate window.”
When discussing the financial markets and the present geopolitical environment impacting them, the finance minister admitted that finding an opportune time to debut the Bitcoin-backed bond is quite tough. Zelaya made reference to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, noting that such an attack could not have been predicted only a few months ago, demonstrating that time is never straightforward.
He continued: “There are several components of the international setting that we must monitor, and omission is one of them.”
El Salvador’s President, Nayib Bukele, initially announced the Bitcoin bond in November, stating that half of the $1 billion raised will be used to construct energy and Bitcoin mining infrastructure, while the other half would be used to grow the country’s crypto assets.
The revenues will be used to acquire more bitcoins and to build “Bitcoin City,” a projected city that would “mine” the digital currency using geothermal energy from a nearby volcano.
Volcanic energy ushers in a new era of sustainable mining for an asset that has consistently faced poor headlines because to its carbon impact.
Previously, Zelaya indicated that the use of Liquid would let investors with as low as $100 to participate in the deal.
“Bonds shall adhere to all applicable financial market norms,” he said. “All standards for [know-your-customer] compliance will be satisfied, and all due diligence will be performed.”
Notably, El Salvador became the world’s first jurisdiction to embrace Bitcoin (BTC) as legal cash in 2021, but just 27% of the country’s population trusts the digital asset as of January 14.
