El Salvador Opens Another Bitcoin Embassy in Texas – Cryptopolitan
El Salvador, the first country to recognize Bitcoin as legal tend, continues its commitment to promote the use of cryptocurrencies. The country is set to open a new Bitcoin embassy in Texas, following the successful establishment of two embassies in El Salvador.
El Salvador: Bitcoin’s biggest fan
El Salvador’s adoption of Bitcoin has been a significant achievement, demonstrating the country’s progressive policies and President Nayib Bukele’s efforts to establish the country as a leader in Bitcoin adoption on an international scale.
The government has been working hard to provide a blueprint for Bitcoin adoption that other countries can follow, with the establishment of two Bitcoin embassies as a crucial part of this process.
The Bitcoin embassies have been strategically placed to build trade links with key financial centers interested in Bitcoin adoption. Texas is an attractive location, serving as the hub of the US Bitcoin mining sector and attracting many companies following China’s ban on Bitcoin mining in 2021.
Reports indicate that by 2022 over a quarter of a billion dollars will be exchanged in trade between Texas and El Salvador. The Bitcoin embassies will act as the first cryptocurrency chambers of commerce, promoting the use of cryptocurrencies outside their respective regions and initiatives promoting the interaction of academics and talents across El Salvador and Lugano.
El Salvador, with a population of over 6 million people, has been at the forefront of promoting Bitcoin adoption, with over 500,000 Salvadorans downloading the government’s Chivo wallet.
The government has also installed over 200 Bitcoin ATMs across the country. However, the adoption of Bitcoin has not been without its challenges, with the significant drop in Bitcoin’s value following adoption causing some businesses to stop accepting it as payment.
Bukele’s leadership in promoting Bitcoin adoption has faced resistance from investors and conventional financiers such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), with the country’s bond prices plunging in mid-2021 following Bukele’s dictatorship-like actions, such as dismissing judges and brutal crackdowns. Moody’s has even downgraded the country’s debt to junk territory.
Despite these challenges, Bukele’s leadership and the government’s efforts to promote Bitcoin adoption have paid off, with El Salvador leading Citi’s emerging market sovereign bond index as the best performer so far this year, with a return of 22.2%. Moody’s outlook has also changed from negative to stable, citing a reduced risk of a credit event in the near term.
New laws on crypto regulation
Alongside Bitcoin adoption, El Salvador has passed a law to regulate the issuance of digital assets by both private and government entities. The law aims to attract national and foreign investors and at the same time create new financing opportunities for citizens, businesses and authorities.
The 47-article law has been approved by 62 votes in the 84-seat Congress. It provides a legal framework that provides legal certainty to transfer operations to any digital asset title used in public issue offerings.
The law also establishes the National Commission for Digital Assets and the Bitcoin Funds Administration Agency, which will manage, protect and invest the funds from public offerings of digital assets conducted by the government.
The provisions of the Act do not apply to digital currencies issued by central banks in any country or territory or digital assets that are legal tender by law, such as Bitcoin.
