Blockstream's Samson Mow Helps Build El Salvador's Bitcoin City

Samson Mow — the former chief strategy officer at major Bitcoin BTC/USD-centric tech firm Blockstream — has launched JAN3, a company raising $21 million at a $100-million valuation to accelerate Bitcoin adoption.

What Happened: A Thursday Reuters report reveals that JAN3 signed a memorandum of understanding to develop digital infrastructure in El Salvador and help build its Bitcoin city.

Mow said that the agreement is is "a general MOU that says we'll work together to build digital infrastructure for the country and for Bitcoin City."

Mow previously advised Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele in the issuance of a $1-billion Bitcoin-backed bond. He presumably gained the leadership's trust considering how easy it was for him to have a further collaboration signed:

"I just set up my company and I said 'do you want to work together?' and they said 'sure.'"

Room For Improvement: El Salvador surely needs to improve its Bitcoin infrastructure significantly if it does want to avoid its adoption of the world's first cryptocurrency from being deemed a complete failure.

A recent survey conducted by the nation's Chamber of Commerce found that just under 14% of business representatives report having made any sales in Bitcoin at all.

A recent trip to El Salvador during which a Bloomberg journalist was able to extensively test the nation's Bitcoin infrastructure painted a grim picture of the system's reliability: empty ATMs, ATMs eating Bitcoin and not returning any money, hours-long waits for transaction approval and a service that is often down.

Most Salvadoran merchants do not accept Bitcoin at all.