Alejandra Guajardo, El Salvador’s representative at Miss Universe 71, wore a Bitcoin-themed outfit during the pageant’s National Costume Show on Wednesday night.
The currency ensemble was designed by plastic artist Francisco Guerrero, but paid special attention to the reigning king of digital assets. Guajardo had a staff with Bitcoin’s logo displayed on the tip, and a colon – one of the country’s previously accepted currencies – decorated with cacao beans strapped to her back.
“This look represents El Salvador’s currency history,” so the contest announcer. “For a long time cocoa was used, and then colón, until it was replaced by the American dollar.” And then, of course, came Bitcoin.
El Salvador became the first country in the world to make Bitcoin legal tender in 2021. The move was largely met with skepticism and concern from the global community, including The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Also US lawmakers sounded the alarm that El Salvador’s Bitcoin agenda could cause economic instability in the nation and weaken US sanctions policy.
Although Bitcoin’s price has fallen over 50% since the law took effect, El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele has remained a staunch champion of the digital currency. He has been involved in promoting a number of BTC adoption initiatives – although it is unclear if he had any direct role in Guajardo’s wardrobe choices for the competition.
“You don’t need a sash to walk around dressed as cash, like El Salvador,” the pageant’s announcer said during the broadcast.
The model’s costume at last year’s pageant was dedicated to calling for justice for women killed in El Salvador. Bukele began arresting civilians en masse in 2022 in an effort to combat the country’s related crime wave. El Salvador’s homicide rate has since fell by 56%according to the Bukele government’s own figures.
Meanwhile, El Salvador passed its Digital Securities Law on Wednesday, providing a framework for strict consumer protection in the broader crypto market while “establishing that we are open for business to all those who want to build the future with us on Bitcoin,” according to the country’s national Bitcoin -office.
It also paves the way for El Salvador’s so-called Volcanic bindings— a $1 billion bond issuance plan that will invest the proceeds in both buying Bitcoin and building out its geothermally powered “Bitcoin City.”
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