Nayib Bukele, president of El Salvador and die-hard Bitcoin enthusiast, formulated a series of predictions about the behavior of bitcoin and the crypto ecosystem for the past year. These included the top price of bitcoin, the influence of the cryptocurrency on U.S. elections, the issuance of the volcano bonds, and also the construction of Bitcoin City. However, he missed the mark on most of them.

Bukele’s Predictions for 2022

The president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, one of the biggest promotors of bitcoin in Latam, and the man behind the adoption of bitcoin as legal tender in his country, made a series of predictions about the cryptocurrency world and its movements for 2022. The predictions touched on issues like bitcoin pricing, the influence of bitcoin on politics, and also the development of several El Salvador-specific developments related to Bitcoin.

The first prediction, revealed in a tweet on Jan. 1, 2022, had to do with the price that bitcoin would reach, calculated by Bukele to be around $100,000. This did not become true, as the maximum price that BTC reached was around $47,500.

The second of Bukele’s predictions stated that two more countries would adopt bitcoin as legal tender. This also failed to become reality. However, St. Kitts and Nevis did announce it would be exploring the possibility of making bitcoin cash (BCH) legal tender by March 2023, “once the safeguards to our country and our people are guaranteed,” as Prime Minister Terrance Drew stated on Nov. 12.

Another prediction was that bitcoin would “become a major electoral issue in U.S. elections this year.” While bitcoin-related issues have been part of the political and regulatory landscape of the U.S. during 2022, more with the demise of FTX during these last two months, this prediction also missed its mark by quite a bit.

El Salvador-Specific Predictions

The second half of the predictions made by Bukele had to do more with Salvador-specific issues, including the status of the volcano bonds, which would be issued by the government to finance the construction of Bitcoin City, and also with the construction of the city itself.

The fourth prediction that Bukele stated was that the construction of the Bitcoin City, the geothermal-powered, bitcoin mining-friendly city, would start last year. However, this also failed to happen, with one of the last statements related to its construction happening on Jan. 9, 2022, when Bukele explained they were drilling more geothermal wells to secure the energy needed to run the city.

This also has to do with his fifth prediction, which explained that the volcano bonds would be oversubscribed. However, the issuance of volcano bonds did not occur in 2022, with Treasury Minister Alejandro Zelaya blaming the postponements of the issuance on the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the fall of the cryptocurrency market. In September, Bitfinex CTO Paolo Ardoino also stated that these bonds would be further delayed because the laws supporting the issuance were still not ready

Its sixth and final prediction stated a surprise to be revealed at The Bitcoin Conference, which was held in April in Miami. However, Bukele was not able to appear in the event, as El Salvador faced an onslaught of gang violence that started in March, with a response from the government qualified as “cruel and inhuman” by the United Nations.

What do you think about the predictions of Nayib Bukele, president of El Salvador, for 2022? Tell us in the comments section below.

Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons

The launch of El Salvador’s bitcoin bonds, issued to finance part of the construction of the Bitcoin City in the country, will be delayed again. In a recent interview Paolo Ardoino, CTO at Bitfinex, the exchange in which these bonds will be offered, stated that the law framework needed for the issuance of these digital securities is still not ready.

El Salvador to Delay Bitcoin Bonds Launch

The launch of the iconic bitcoin bonds of El Salvador, which will serve to fund the construction of the Bitcoin City announced last year, will be further delayed, according to reports coming from Paolo Ardoino, CTO at Bitfinex. In a recent interview offered to Fortune, Ardoino stated that the law framework that would support this issuance was still not ready.

However, Ardoino made a prediction on the launch date of the bonds. He declared:

If the law passes by September, I would expect it to reasonably take two to three months to have everything else rolled out.

The bond token was reported to be issued first in the Bitfinex exchange, using the Liquid network, managed by Blockstream, as the platform for its distribution.

Volcano Bonds’ Background

The bitcoin bonds, dubbed volcano bonds due to the geothermal energy that will be used to power mining operations in the Bitcoin City, were first announced in November 2021. President Nayib Bukele aimed to raise $1 billion with this instrument. The launch of the bonds was predicted to happen after 60 days after this announcement.

However, the bond launch was delayed. The Salvadoran Congress drafted 20 bills in order to support the launch of these digital securities in January. Later, in May, treasury minister Alejandro Zelaya informed the launch of the bonds was on hold due to the market conditions and the situation of the war in Europe, hinting at a possible launch in May or June.

In an interview in June, Zelaya clarified that it was not feasible to launch the bonds then due to several factors, including the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. At the time, he explained that many investors interested in cryptocurrency instruments pivoted to investments related to the arms industry.

The government of El Salvador has been heavily criticized for the losses caused by the investments President Nayib Bukele has done, buying the bitcoin “dip” several times.

What do you think about the latest delay in the launch of the Salvadoran Bitcoin bonds? Tell us in the comments section below.

Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons

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The president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, presented on Tuesday the first images of Bitcoin City

El Salvador President Nayib Bukele has revealed a model of his planned Bitcoin City. More of a cryptocurrency trading hub than an actual city, the Bitcoin City will be powered by volcanic geothermal energy and promises an array of tax exemptions to attract foreign investors. Bitcoin City will also have residential areas, malls, and even a port to make it feel like a residential zone. One of the few countries to have adopted Bitcoin as a legal tender, El Salvador aims to be a trendsetter when it comes to cryptocurrency adoption and usage. In the midst of a major sell-off on the cryptocurrency market this week, the country added 500 Bitcoin to its Bitcoin reserves.

On May 10, Bukele took to Twitter to share images of a scale model for his Bitcoin City. Bukele also tweeted that “El Salvador just bought the dip,” adding 500 more Bitcoins to its treasury. Bitcoin prices took a major plunge on May 10, dropping below US$30,000 for the first time since July 2021. For a crypto-forward leader like Bukele, it made sense to buy the dip when the prices are low. But there is a very important question that needs to be answered: what will happen to the Bitcoin City in El Salvador when there will be no Bitcoin?

Looking at the current scenario and the performance of crypto king it can be said that there is a possibility in the near future when Bitcoin will no longer exist. Not just that but given the volatility of bitcoin and its low adoption among the general population, recently, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has urged El Salvador to remove bitcoin as a legal currency. Bukele’s insistence on keeping it as legal tender complicated his negotiations with the IMF, which said it must assess the risk of the cryptocurrency before granting El Salvador a loan.

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