El Salvador: tourism increases by over 30% thanks to Bitcoin

El Salvador, the first country in the world to implement Bitcoin as legal tender, is now experiencing a rise in tourism of over 30%. 

President Nayib Bukele is proposing 52 legal reforms to Congress, including offering citizenship to foreigners in exchange for investments, including in cryptocurrencies. 

El Salvador and the increase in tourism over 30% thanks to Bitcoin

Morena Valdez, head of El Salvador’s Ministry of Tourism (MITUR), reportedly pointed out how the implementation of Bitcoin has attracted more tourists and investors to the country, with associated benefits for the sector. 

The post was retweeted by El Salvador’s own President, Nayib Bukele. 

“Bitcoin is starting to pay off in El Salvador: the implementation of the cryptocurrency has grown the country’s tourism sector by over 30%.”

Specifically, Valdez said:

“We did a survey to check the activity, according to before and after Bitcoin. The tourism sector increased, in November and December, by more than 30%”

El Salvador: President offers citizenship to foreign investors

Nayib Bukele, President of El Salvador, tweeted on Sunday his plan to make the country “a paradise of freedom”. 

“I’m sending 52 legal reforms to congress, to remove red tape, reduce bureaucracy, create tax incentives, citizenship in exchange for investments, new securities laws, stability contracts, etc. The plan is simple: as the world falls into tyranny, we’ll create a haven for freedom”.

These are thus 52 new legal reforms that Bukele is said to have sent to Congress with various objectives. Among them, Bukele would like to offer citizenship to foreign investors, including of course those who invest in cryptocurrencies. 

Nayib Bukele and the response to “interference” from the US

The President of El Salvador is increasingly open to moving in this direction, despite some “interference” from the United States. 

Essentially, with the proposed Accountability for Cryptocurrency in El Salvador Act (ACES), a bipartisan group of US senators, wants to intervene and proceed to:

 “mitigate potential risks to the US financial system such as money laundering and terrorist financing”. 

If the bill were to pass, it would give federal agencies 60 days to submit a report assessing various aspects of the Central American nation’s cybersecurity and financial stability capabilities.

In this regard, Bukele responded publicly to the US partners as follows:

“OK boomers… You have 0 jurisdiction on a sovereign and independent nation. We are not your colony, your back yard or your front yard. Stay out of our internal affairs. Don’t try to control something you can’t control”.

El Salvador and the launch of crypto bonds

Another piece of news in El Salvador, is Bukele’s announcement of the launch of crypto bonds. It is a $1 billion issuance, managed by the company Blockstream, which a few days ago announced that it had reached an initial acceptance in principle for about half of the amount. 

The issuance is expected to take place between 15 and 20 March 2022, with an expected yield of around 6.5%. 

However, at the time of writing, Bitcoin’s price is hovering around $38,700, far from its last ATH (All-Time High) of $68,000. 

According to the prediction of the co-founder of the Huobi crypto-exchange, Bitcoin’s next bull run will not occur until late 2024 or early 2025, factoring in BTC’s halving as an indicator for that theory.