Tether and Bitfinex’s chief technology officer said that he is hopeful that the bond will still be issued this year despite the falling bitcoin price. According to a report published in Fortune, El Salvador’s Volcano Bond offering is still facing delays due to a lack of investor interest as well as a legislative holdup.
Najib Bukele, President of the United States, announced plans to raise $1 Billion via bitcoin-backed bonds (BTC) in November. This was shortly after El Salvador became first country to accept bitcoin as legal tender. Although the initial plan was to launch in early-2022, it has been delayed at least partially by falling bitcoin prices.
El Salvador’s Congress must also pass legislation to issue the bond. President Bukele’s New Ideas party holds a comfortable majority. Fortune spoke with Paolo Ardoino, Bitfinex Chief Technology Officer for Tether – who worked closely with El Salvador in the development of bitcoin – and said that officials from the government have assured him that he can expect passage in September.
Ardoino said that if this happens, he would expect to wait another two to three more months to get the Volcano Bond out. This suggests that the sale could take place before 2022.
El Salvador’s government didn’t immediately respond to our request for comment.
Alejandro Zelaya , El Salvador’s Finance Minister, stated in February that the bond issue would be held between March 15th and March 20th. However weeks later claimed that the delay was caused by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. He stated that while we have almost all the tools, the international context will help us.
According to announcements from Bukele, El Salvador has purchased 2,301 Bitcoins for approximately \$103.9 million since September 2013. These bitcoins are currently worth approximately $45 million. The country bought 80 bitcoins for $19,000 each on July 30th.
