El Salvador Passes the Bill Associated with Bitcoin-backed Bonds
- The “Digital Asset Issuance” bill paves the way for the highly-anticipated Bitcoin-backed bond, called the “Volcano Bond in El Salvador.
- The bill was passed on January 11 with 62 votes in favor and 16 votes against and will be made into law when passed by the President.
- The National Bitcoin Office of El Salvador recently tweeted about the bill’s passage and said it will soon begin issuing the bonds.
- The technology provider for the Volcano Bond, Bitfinex, also took to Twitter to celebrate the bill’s passage.
El Salvador, the first country to adopt Bitcoin as a legal tender, has finally passed the landmark bill, providing the legal framework for all digital assets except Bitcoin. Moreover, the law also paves the way for the country’s highly-anticipated Bitcoin-backed bond, called the “Volcano Bond,” which aims to pay down the country’s sovereign debt and fund Bukele’s highly ambitious construction plans for “Bitcoin City.”
The bill, which was passed on January 11 with 62 votes in favor and 16 votes against, is expected to become law following its ratification by President Nayib Bukele. The National Bitcoin Office of El Salvador recently tweeted about the bill’s passage and said it will soon begin issuing the bonds.
As reported earlier by Bitnation, El Salvador established a new agency called National Bitcoin Office (ONBTC) to lead all the projects related to blockchain and cryptocurrencies in the Central American nation. The agency has been given freedom to collaborate and design projects involving Bitcoin and also join forces with organizations based in other nations for the same and its task will be to “design, diagnose, plan, program, coordinate, follow up, measure, analyze and evaluate plans, programs, and projects related to bitcoin for the economic development of the country.”
The technology provider for the Volcano Bond, Bitfinex, also went to Twitter to celebrate the bill’s passage. Interestingly, the term “volcano” for the bonds is derived from the nation’s Bitcoin City, which is projected to become a renewable crypto-mining hub fuelled by hydrothermal energy from the nearby Conchagua volcano.
According to Bitfinex, the Volcano Bond, or Volcano Tokens, would enable El Salvador to raise funds to pay down its sovereign debt, fund the development of the Bitcoin City, and establish Bitcoin mining infrastructure.
The renowned crypto exchange platform also noted that the highly-anticipated city would be a special economic zone, similar to those in China, with tax advantages, regulations that support cryptocurrencies, and other incentives for people to start Bitcoin businesses.
“With the passing of this digital securities law, El Salvador will offer unprecedented consumer protection from bad actors in the ‘crypto’ space while also firmly establishing that we are open for business to all those who wish to build the future with us on bitcoin,” Bitfinex further stated.
Notably, the government aims to raise $1 billion from the bonds, with half of it dedicated for the development of the special economic zone.
The new law also establishes the National Digital Assets Commission, a regulatory body tasked with enforcing El Salvador’s securities laws, protecting the rights of issuers and purchasers of digital assets, and preventing fraudsters from conducting business in the Bitcoin City.
In a recent interview, Samson Mow, a supporter of Bitcoin who worked on the development of the Volcano Token, said that the recently passed law would help make the nation a “major” financial hub.
“The move to pass the new Digital Securities Law, and enable new instruments like the Bitcoin Bonds, will help El Salvador to pay off their existing debts and will be critical to transforming the country into a major financial center of the world,” he stated.
A crypto journalist with over 3 years of experience in DeFi, NFT, metaverse, etc. Parth has worked with major media outlets in the crypto and finance world and has gained experience and expertise in crypto culture after surviving bear and bull markets over the years.
