The Bitcoin Embassy is opened by El-Salvador in Texas
According to a tweet from El Salvador’s ambassador to the United States, Milena Mayorga, a meeting took place between her, other representatives of El Salvador and Texas Deputy Secretary of State Joe Esparza. “We discussed the opening of the second Bitcoin embassy and the expansion of commercial and financial exchange projects,” Mayorga said, also noting that “In 2022, El Salvador and the state of Texas had a commercial exchange of $1,244,636,983.”
This week, Milena Mayorga, Salvadoran ambassador to the United States, discussed her recent meeting with Texas Secretary of State Joe Esparza. Mayorga stated that government officials were considering the possibility of opening a second bitcoin embassy in the state. She noted that discussions had already taken place with authorities from Lugano, Switzerland about a similar bitcoin embassy concept.
“The State of Texas, our new ally,” Mayorga tweeted. “In my meeting with the Deputy Secretary of the Government of Texas, Joe Esparza … we discussed the opening of the second one [bitcoin] embassy, and expansion of commercial and economic exchange projects.”
The Salvadoran ambassador’s proposal comes after El Salvador’s approval of the Digital Assets Issuance Law in January 2023 and a recent mission statement on El Salvador’s economy from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF noted that El Salvador had managed to avoid cryptocurrency-related risks due to the slow and lukewarm adoption of bitcoin in the country. This development also follows comments by Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele regarding disinformation in the media.
El Salvador has already reached beyond its borders to push for bitcoin adoption. Mayorga said in October that they are planning a bitcoin office in Lugano, Switzerland, for the countries to collaborate on initiatives “to drive the adoption of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies,” in their respective regions. As of November 2022, El Salvador had purchased 2,381 bitcoins. At Wednesday’s price of around USD 23,056, the country’s stake was worth around USD 55 million.
In addition, the country has started to create the first government debt securities backed by Bitcoin since then. Furthermore, the government is home to several projects that work exclusively with Bitcoin. A new link between Texas and Central America has been made possible by the new Bitcoin Embassy.
However, the IMF issued a warning regarding the use of Bitcoin in El Salvador due to the speculative nature of the crypto market when it delivered its final report on El Salvador’s economy on February 10, 2023. “Risks should be managed,” it added.
According to the IMF, El Salvador’s economy had been struggling since September 2021, when bitcoin was approved as legal tender. The International Monetary Fund also suggested that El Salvador reconsider its decision due to the legal and financial issues surrounding the issuance of tokenized bonds.
El Salvador had purchased 2,381 bitcoins by November 2022. As of Wednesday’s price of around $23,056, the country’s holdings were around $55 million. In November, Bloomberg calculated that the government had paid about $105 million in cryptocurrency based on its analysis of the tweets of El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele.
Bitcoin’s value has fallen from a November 2021 peak of $69,000, but it has at least recovered during the crypto winter that has brought down most cryptocurrency prices. Bitcoin has jumped nearly 40% so far in 2023 after losing nearly 60% of its value in 2022.
