In a setting similar to that of a rock concert, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele announced that his government will build a “Bitcoin City” at the base of a volcano on the country’s coast.
Bukele took advantage of a gathering of bitcoin enthusiasts on Saturday night to present his latest idea, just as he used an earlier bitcoin conference in Miami to announce in a video message that El Salvador would be the first country to make crypto. was legal tender.
A bond offering would be made entirely in bitcoin in 2022, Bukele said. And 60 days after the funding is ready, construction of the city would begin.
The city will be built near the Conchagua volcano to harness geothermal energy to power both the city and Bitcoin mining – the solving of complex mathematical calculations day and night to verify currency transactions – which is very energy consuming.
The government is already conducting a Bitcoin mining pilot project at another geothermal plant next to the Tecapa volcano.
The Conchagua volcano is located in the southeast of El Salvador, in the Gulf of Fonseca.
The government will provide the necessary land and infrastructure and work to attract investors.
The only tax that will be charged there will be the value added tax, half of which will be used to pay for municipal bonds and the rest for municipal infrastructure and maintenance. Bukele said there would be no property, income or municipality taxes and that the city would have zero carbon dioxide emissions.
The city will be built thinking about attracting foreign investment. There would be residential areas, shopping centers, restaurants and a port, Bukele said. The president spoke about digital education, technology and sustainable public transport.
“Invest here and earn all the money you want,” Bukele commented to the crowd in English at the closing of the Latin American Bitcoin and Blockchain Conference that took place in El Salvador.
Bitcoin has been a legal tender along with the US dollar since September 7 in the Central American nation.