El Salvador is set to receive $1.6 billion in private investment, intended to accelerate the development of its ambitious “Bitcoin BTC/USD City” project.
What Happened: According to a video shared by President Nayib Bukele Monday, Turkish company Yilport Holding would channel the funds into two of El Salvador’s seaports, marking it the largest private investment in the Central American nation’s history.
The Acajutla Seaport, which is the country’s biggest and handles the majority of exports, and the currently dormant La Union Seaport, where ‘Bitcoin City’ is slated to be built, are the two ports involved in this deal.
The mega deal kicked off the third phase of El Salvador’s economic plan, which aimed to improve the country’s logistics.
See Also: Crypto Analyst Says Bitcoin Could Hit $100,000, An 86% Surge
Why It Matters: The ‘Bitcoin City’ project is a part of El Salvador’s broader strategy to put the apex cryptocurrency at the center of its nation-building activity.
The city, located near a volcano, is expected to be powered by geothermal energy, thus exempting all of its activities, including BItcoin mining, from all taxes except for the value-added tax. It is planned to be a full-fledged metropolis, complete with residential and commercial areas, restaurants, an airport, and a port and rail service.
El Salvador has doubled down on Bitcoin ever since adopting the world’s largest digital currency as a legal tender in 2021. The country has adopted a plan to buy one Bitcoin every day, until it becomes unaffordable with fiat currencies.
At the time of writing, the country had 5,840.76 Bitcoins in its reserves, worth more than $345 million.
Price Action: At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading just below $59,176.16, up 1.59% in the last 24 hours, according to data from Benzinga Pro.
Photo Courtesy: Shutterstock.com
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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