In a recent move, an organization linked to the government of El Salvador has denied claims that they have canceled their ambitious plans to build a Bitcoin city that would serve as a haven for Bitcoiners.
Nayib Bukele, President of El Salvador, announced in May 2022 the plans to create a smart city fully based on the use of Bitcoin as a cryptocurrency. Funded by Bitcoin-based bonds and located in Conchagua (La Unión), this city ought to be the world’s first “Bitcoin City.”
El Salvador Bitcoin City envisions being a city with no income tax, no property tax, or any other tax and zero carbon dioxide emissions. The only tax will be VAT, half of which will go towards paying bondholders, and the other half will be directed towards the welfare of the city.
However, the existence of this city came into speculation as late last month, a number of Twitter-based individuals claimed that they had come across documentary evidence that the Ministry of Public Works had confirmed that the Bitcoin City project “does not exist.”
Further, these users claimed that the ministry had “made it clear” that the project, as announced by President Nayib Bukele in 2022, was “only a publicity [stunt].” To this, Escape to El Salvador, an organization that claims to assist expats in gaining residency and citizenship in El Salvador, refuted these speculations and claimed:
There are advanced plans [to create Bitcoin City.] They just haven’t been submitted to this ministry for review.
Escape to El Salvador is closely linked to the Bitcoin Beach project, a community of Bitcoiners who transformed a small group of surfing villages into Bitcoin (BTC)-powered economies. The Bitcoin Beach project is thought to have been the chief inspiration for Bukele’s pivot to BTC in 2021.
However, critics will likely highlight the fact that original proposals claimed that work on Bitcoin City would begin in 2022. Notably, several Bitcoin-related projects appear to have been scaled back or put on ice during crypto winter including the issuance of Bitcoin bonds.
Reportedly the speculations around the Bitcoin City rose from Bukele’s absence from commenting in recent times. The El Salvadoran president who has been very vocal about all things related to Bitcoin, has largely refrained from posting about the token in recent months. He has not been shy of posting news about his sky-high approval ratings.
However, Bukele is seeking to win an unprecedented second term as the president as currently, his Nuevas Ideas Party holds a “supermajority” in the nation’s parliament.
Notably, El Salvador has a remarkable place in relevance to Bitcoin. It was one of the first nations to announce Bitcoin as a legal tender in September 2021. Following that, the country has been heavily investing in the asset and is determined to continue doing so despite the warnings from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
To promote the mass adoption of Bitcoin, the nation is trying to educate students about it. In November last year, the country also launched a special Bitcoin Office to manage all cryptocurrency-related activities and projects. In February, the Salvadoran government unveiled plans to open a second international Bitcoin Embassy in Texas.