In a latest development, El Salvador has passed a new law enabling foreign Bitcoin investors to obtain the country’s citizenship. The migration law, approved this Wednesday, will grant citizenship to foreigners who donate Bitcoin to the government’s social and economic development endeavors.
El Salvador’s Bitcoin Revolution and Details of the Citizenship Scheme
El Salvador shocked the world in 2021 by becoming the first country to adopt cryptocurrency – Bitcoin specifically – as it’s legal tender back in September 2021. This bold move has since sparked a daredevil Bitcoin revolution that it’s continued to build on – and which other nations like the Central African Republic are gradually buying into.
In January, the country passed a groundbreaking Digital Securities Law which established a “legal framework for all digital assets that are not Bitcoin. As well as those issued on Bitcoin.” Another reason for this law was to prepare the stage for issuing its volcano bonds and protect investors and customers from “bad actors” in the space.
The Volcano Bond is the country’s geothermal energy project to harness volcanoes for mining Bitcoin and has been on the works since adopting Bitcoin as legal tender in 2021. Meanwhile, the Volcano Bond has been legally approved and should be issued early next year, according to the country’s Bitcoin Office.
“The Volcano Bond has just received regulatory approval from the Digital Assets Commission (CNAD). We anticipate the bond will be issued during the first quarter of 2024. This is just the beginning for new capital markets on #Bitcoin in El Salvador,” wrote the Bitcoin Office on X.
Once issued, the Volcano Bond is expected to contribute considerably to the country’s Bitcoin economy and also influence greater investment. As for the new citizenship law, the intricacies of the dynamics are yet to be exposed.
However, the law doesn’t yet hint at any minimum BTC donation requirement for foreigners looking to become citizens. According to the law, qualifying foreigners will be exempted from the country’s conventional 5-year residency requirement for people from non-Hispanophone countries.
Bitcoin Resilience Shines In El Salvador Amidst US Power Players’ Crypto Dilemma
While the US crypto economy has been facing back and forths with the government elites and financial titans, El Salvador has been making giant strides to fully incorporate Bitcoin into its economy and achieve an actual nationwide acceptance.
In the US, Senator Elizabeth Warren is waging a non-stop war against crypto – to impose limitations on its use and operation around the country. She’s garnered a group of 19 other senators who are motioning for a limitation in the modus operandi of crypto to mitigate terrorism and other crimes. And so far, it seems US top players have only magnified all the minor loopholes in the crypto space.
SEC Chief, Gary Gensler, has also sustained a reputation for having tussles with top exchanges and companies in the crypto economy. Yesterday, Gensler posted on X about non-compliance in the crypto space.
“There is a lot of noncompliance in the crypto space. It undermines confidence when so many people have been hurt and all they can do is stand in line in the bankruptcy court. Further, this can make it hard for the good faith actors to compete,” wrote Gensler.
Top crypto players reacted to the post decrying the SECs inability to create compliance guidelines for crypto companies like Coinbase for the past few years.
An X user and top crypto influencer @ThinkingCrypto1, among others, replied to the Gensler’s tweet:
“You are one to talk about noncompliance. You are a liar and have no allegiance to the law. You should be fired immediately,” said Gensler
While all these controversies keep besetting the crypto space in the US, its South American counterpart is making applaudable advances with Bitcoin. El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, has also dropped his two cents about the political state of the US lately.
“The United States has lost its ability to lecture any other country about “democracy,” said Bukele on X