Welcome to Latam Insights Encore, a deep dive into Latin America’s most relevant economic and cryptocurrency-based news from last week. In this edition, we discuss the possibilities of making Bitcoin an important part of the proposed economic overhaul plan of El Salvador.

Latam Insights Encore: El Salvador Might Benefit Putting Bitcoin at the Center of Its Economic Plan

El Salvador is starting to develop a plan to overhaul its economy to attract investments and combat the ongoing economic woes the country is going through. Last week, the government announced the third part of its overhaul plan, which involves reactivating its port infrastructure via private investment.

Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele managed to close a 50-year deal with Yilport Holding, a Turkish company that will establish a joint venture with the state to operate and improve two of the most significant ports of the country: La Union and Acajutla.

While this investment, calculated at $1.61 billion, will undoubtedly increase the flow of imports and exports transiting through these ports, Bukele has still failed to include the bitcoin variable in his economic plans for El Salvador. The country has established all the conditions for Bitcoin investments to thrive, so it’s natural that this might happen in the future.

A new phase of this plan should include the issuance of the so-called “volcano bonds,” which have been delayed several times before. This might help kickstart and give visibility to the construction of Bitcoin City, which was proposed back in 2021 and has not progressed. Bitcoin companies and cryptocurrency entities might be enticed to bet more on the future of these initiatives and start moving real capital volumes to the country.

The time is right, given that even institutions that have been die-hard enemies of Bitcoin, like the International Monetary Fund (IMF), have started softening their stance towards the cryptocurrency and the risks it might present for global economies.

In the same way, it might also establish a historic precedent as the first nation to achieve a relevant economic recovery with bitcoin at the core of its plans.

Source : Bitcoin News - Aug 20, 2024