El Salvador’s government has បានកំណត់គោលដៅ $203 million for infrastructure improvements near the so-called “Bitcoin Beach” in the region of La Libertad.
The news is curious in the context of El Salvador’s ការធ្លាក់ចុះ creditworthiness, major ការពន្យារពេល in bond offerings, sovereign debt at 40 សេន on the dollar, repeated ការព្រមាន from the nation’s largest creditor to reverse its adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender, and escalating gang អំពើហិង្សា that prompted the country’s president to threaten ការអត់ឃ្លាន for gang prisoners.
ប្រធានាធិបតីអែលសាល់វ៉ាឌ័រលោកណៃអ៊ីបប៊ូឡេ ការអះអាង that La Libertad will use the cash injection to build a shopping center, parking area, beach club, and treatment plant in a 15,000 square-meter area. Bukele’s administration also plans to expand 21 kilometers of highway in “Surf City” to four lanes.
អ្នកគ្រប់គ្រង heralded the use of hydraulic concrete, which comes with a higher upfront cost but lasts longer than asphalt. How much of the $203 million is attributable to the marginal expense of better concrete was not disclosed.
Other improvements included new bike paths and improvements to drainage systems and bridges. In all, Bukele aims to support tourism in the pro-bitcoin region.
El Salvador has lots of money for Bitcoin Beach
Bitcoin Beach predates President Bukele’s efforts to roll out bitcoin as legal tender. By 2019, an anonymous benefactor had been បរិច្ចាគ to the non-profit Mission Sake’s Community Build and routing significant funds into El Zonte in La Libertad to develop the town’s bitcoin infrastructure.
As the Bitcoin Beach app proliferated onto residents’ mobile devices and merchants installed point-of-sale terminals accepting bitcoin as a payment method — luring foreign bitcoiners as tourists — the town earned the nickname “Bitcoin Beach.”
អានបន្ថែម: ការចាប់ផ្តើមអាជីវកម្ម Bitcoin ATM ប្តឹងអតីតនាយកប្រតិបត្តិជុំវិញការបើកដំណើរការ El Salvador ដែលត្រូវបានរំខាន
Bitcoin Beach quickly rebuilt its tourism industry after the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Bukele attributed the tourism rebound to El Salvador’s crackdown on violent gang activity, great surf, and visits from foreign bitcoiners. El Salvadoran tourism minister Morena Valdez បានបន្ថែម that the country’s other responses to COVID-19 helped boost confidence among tourists.
In 2019, very few people in the El Zonte region had access to mainstream financial infrastructure. Now residents can pay for essentials like food and utilities using bitcoin over the Lightning Network.
Morena Valdez សរសើរ Bitcoin Beach’s contribution to the tourism industry, saying that visitors to the El Zonte region who are interested in bitcoin spend more money and stay longer. She barely seemed phased by criticism of El Salvador’s rollout of bitcoin as legal tender. She said that the initiative helped boost the tourism sector.
Bitcoin (and Tether) bonds delayed
El Salvador’s so-called bitcoin bonds, which also accept Tether (USDT) for payment, continue to be an issue for Bukele’s government. On August 30, 2022, their issuance was again បានពន្យាពេល.
Bitfinex, a sister exchange of Tether Ltd., hesitated to begin the issuance. However, in the next couple of weeks, Bukele’s New Ideas party expects to pass legislation that will clear the way to approve Bitfinex as the technology provider for the bond issuance.
Bukele’s bitcoin bonds and Volcano Tokens faced រុញថយក្រោយ from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA). BBVA’s William Snead expressed doubt that Volcano Token would ever launch. The IMF previously បានហៅ on El Salvador to reverse its decision to make bitcoin legal tender.
Despite the uncertainty, Bitfinex and Tether CTO Paolo Ardoino សម្តែង confidence that Volcano Token would launch in mid-September and that it could raise the full 1 ពាន់លាន $ goal. El Zonte Capital chief Stacy Herbert, the wife of bitcoin evangelist Max Keiser, បានរៀបរាប់ that some people seem impatient for the Volcano Token to launch.
អានបន្ថែម: Will El Salvador default on its debt because of Bitcoin? Markets say yes
Bitcoin Beach remains a focal point for bitcoin adoption in El Salvador. To date, adoption has been disappointing, with just 20% of residents បន្ត to use the country’s Chivo app after spending their free bitcoin incentive. Worse, just 1.6% of international remittances to El Salvadoran recipients used bitcoin despite the government’s promises that it would lower remittance fees.
សម្រាប់ព័ត៍មានបន្ថែម សូមតាមដានពួកយើងនៅលើ Twitter និង Google News.
Source: https://protos.com/el-salvador-may-be-broke-but-its-still-throwing-200m-at-bitcoin-beach/