Technology
It’s golden: El Salvador reveals Bitcoin City model
The president shared images of the utopian city on his Twitter account
May 11, 2022 4:12pm
Updated: May 11, 2022 5:04pm
El Salvadorean President Nayib Bukele revealed a scale model of the country’s “Bitcoin City,” the first city built around the cryptocurrency.
The president shared images of the utopian city on his Twitter account: a golden city at the base of a volcano with a giant Bitcoin symbol in the middle. The scale model also includes landmarks and an airport.
#Bitcoin City is coming along beautifully ❤️ pic.twitter.com/A6ay8aAREW
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) May 9, 2022
Despite being overwhelmingly golden in the model, Bukele explained that the city will not actually be golden. It was just the architect’s choice. “The actual city will be mostly green (trees) and blue (sea),” Bukele tweeted.
And no, the city won’t be made up of golden metal; that is just the architect’s choice of color for the scale model.
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) May 10, 2022
The actual city will be mostly green (trees) and blue (sea) 🤩
Some of the views: pic.twitter.com/oKeg9K408j
Landmarks and all… pic.twitter.com/PefwGp8yC6
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) May 9, 2022
Proposed as a tax haven, Bitcoin City promises to be a green city powered by geothermal energy from the Conchagua volcano. In turn, the energy will be used to mine Bitcoin.
Bitcoin City is one of Bukele’s several crypto-related projects. El Salvador was the first county to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender, making it the official currency in September of last year.
El Salvador also announced the “bitcoin bond,” which would allow people to buy bonds with a minimum of $100 and do not require a stockbroker. The bonds offer a 6.5 percent coupon that matures in 2032.
Bukele released the first models of the city the same week that crypto markets tanked. Bitcoin’s value has fallen almost 19% over the past week, and is now trading at $30,610 for one bitcoin. The cryptocurrency
Bukele’s Bitcoin projects have been met with criticism. Fitch Ratings downgraded El Salvador’s default rating, claiming that the Central American country’s adoption of Bitcoin makes the country’s policy more unpredictable in the face of an $800 million bond due in January 2023. Moody’s also claimed that the country’s bitcoin portfolio is putting the country’s financial status at risk.
It is unclear whether Bitcoin City will actually be built.
