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- El Salvador’s “Adopting El Salvador Freedom Visa Program” for Bitcoin donation gaining momentum as hundreds make inquiries.
- According to El Salvador’s National Bitcoin Office (ONBTC), 1000 slots are allocated to individuals per calendar year.
El Salvador became the first country to recognize Bitcoin (BTC) as a legal tender in 2021 and has since stood its ground against international opposition. On December 7, the government together with stablecoin issuer Tether announced a program dubbed “Adopting El Salvador Freedom Visa Program” to offer 1,000 citizenships to wealthy investors. Adriana Mira, El Salvador’s Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs spoke about the collaboration to enable individuals to participate in the nation building.
This collaboration signifies a pivotal milestone in our dedication to economic development and innovation. The ‘Adopting El Salvador Freedom Visa Program” offers an extraordinary opportunity for individuals to actively participate in shaping a prosperous future for our nation.
According to reports, the citizenship-by-donation program grants residency visas to individuals who invest $1 million in Bitcoin or Tether into the country. According to El Salvador’s National Bitcoin Office (ONBTC), this program is open to 1000 people every calendar year. Speaking on this, it was disclosed that hundreds of inquiries have so far been received since launch. Its embassies and consulates have reportedly received dozens of applications both online and in person.
ONBTC expects the 1000 slots to be sold out before the end of 2023.
Commenting on this initiative, Altana Digital Currency chief investment officer Alistair Milne stated that El Salvador’s $1 million Bitcoin investment is “uncompetitive.”
El Salvador offers Visas and citizenship to anyone investing $ 1 million (in USDt or Bitcoin) in the country. Frankly uncompetitive in the global market (can get EU citizenship for less) so disappointing.
El Salvador Also Launching Bitcoin Bond
Comparatively, Malta offers $810,000 citizenship by investment in addition to access to the EU’s visa-free Schengen Area which has about 23 countries. Neighboring countries such as Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, and St. Lucia offer citizenship for $100,000. Grenada and St. Kitts and Nevis also exchanged citizenship for $150,000 and $250,000 respectively.
According to the National Bitcoin Office, the $1 million price tag is fair enough.
If anything, in fact, it is actually underpriced. While there are many citizenship programs available in the world, there is only one Bitcoin country.
In other news, El Salvador has received approval for the much anticipated Bitcoin bond also called the “Volcano Bonds.” El Salvador’s Digital Assets Commission approved the bond with the launch date expected to be around the first quarter of 2024. According to ONBTC, the bond will be issued on the Bitfinex Securities Platform. According to reports, the bond will last for 10 years with a 6.5 percent return annually.
Paolo Ardoino, CTO of Bitfinex Securities commented:
We support the government of El Salvador’s commitment to the development of Bitcoin-based capital markets and are excited to be part of their economic transformation. We look forward to the launch of new issuances in the first half of 2024.
As of press time, Bitcoin had extended its bearish run with a 1.4% fall in the last 24 hours, trading at $41,248.53. In the last seven days, the asset has fallen by 6%.
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