El Salvador President Nayib Bukele said he plans to build a “Bitcoin City,” one of the first of its kind, financed by cryptocurrency bond and powered by a volcano.
He further added while addressing at the Latin America Bitcoin and Blockchain conference on Saturday that the Bitcoin City will include everything a city offers. Things like residential areas, commercial areas, transport services like airports, ports, rails, etc., other services like entertainment, museums, and so on.
For two decades El Salvador has used the US dollars, being the first to legalize Bitcoin as a legal tender. Nayib Bukele further stated that the Conchagua volcano would power Bitcoin mining and the entire city.
Bitcoin mining requires enormous amounts of energy as new Bitcoins are minted using computers that solve complex mathematical problems. A geothermal plant that runs on Tecapa Volcano supplies some energy in El Salvador.
Initially, power will be supplied from the Tecapa plant to Bitcoin City. After building a new power plant located at Conchagua, the power generated from this plant will be supplied to Bitcoin City, Nayib Bukele said.
He further stated to the masses that the entire city would be an ecological city with zero carbon emission. Chief Strategy Officer Samson Mow, a blockchain tech provider, said that in 2022, El Salvador would issue $1 billion “Bitcoin bonds” to finance the project.
While on the stage with Nayib Bukele, Samson Mow added that half of the “volcano funds” will be allocated in Bitcoin while the other half will be allocated in the infrastructure. Going further, Samson Mow said that El Salvador would be recognized as the world’s financial hub.
Nayib Bukele added that only value-added tax (VAT) would be charged in Bitcoin City. Other taxes like income tax, capital gains tax, property tax, payroll tax, and other taxes would be a thing of the past. Only VAT will prevail. As of now, no deadline for the construction of the Bitcoin City is confirmed.