El Salvador secures over $1.6 billion in investment, "Bitcoin City" set to restart after a two-year delay?

Author: Ting, BlockTempo

After officially designating Bitcoin as legal tender in September 2021, President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador has actively promoted several Bitcoin-related policies, including the development of a wallet, launching an investment citizenship program in December last year, where investing $1 million in Bitcoin or USDT grants residency and citizenship, and seeking to issue $1 billion in Bitcoin volcano bonds.

$1.62 Billion Investment from Turkish Company

In this context, the Salvadoran government announced on the 11th that Turkish company Yilport Holding will invest $1.62 billion in two ports in El Salvador, marking the largest private investment in the country's history. President Bukele also stated in a video shared on Monday:

"This will be a mixed ownership company between Yilport Holding and El Salvador, which will operate these two ports for the next 50 years."

One of the participating ports is Acajutla, which handles most of the country's coffee, sugar, and balsamic salt exports from Peru. The other port is La Union, a planned site for Bitcoin City, which is an inactive and neglected port.

Will Bitcoin City Revive?

It is worth mentioning that Stacy Herbert, head of the El Salvador Bitcoin Office, retweeted a post by Jose Valdez, which stated that Yilport Holding's $1.62 billion investment will create "thousands of direct and indirect job opportunities" and "more investment in local infrastructure."

At the same time, Stacy Herbert hinted that Yilport Holding's investment is significant for Bitcoin City:

"This agreement is of great importance for the eastern region of El Salvador (near the future Bitcoin City) and will bring multiple positive impacts."

Max Keiser, a member of the El Salvador Bitcoin Office, directly tweeted that Yilport Holding will invest in Bitcoin City and revealed that Qatari investments are also in discussions:

"El Salvador is investing $1.6 billion in Bitcoin City infrastructure, the largest private investment in El Salvador's history: $1.6 billion

Yilport Holding will invest in the Pacific Port Alliance and Bitcoin City, and President Bukele's visit to Turkey was a great success!"

According to previous reports from BlockTempo, Bitcoin City was first proposed in November 2021. This city will rely on geothermal energy for power, and residents will be exempt from various taxes, with plans to build a massive Bitcoin symbol in the city center. However, after more than two years, Bitcoin City seems to have made no substantial progress. Nevertheless, with Yilport Holding's investment in the surrounding ports of Bitcoin City, expectations for its revival have increased.

Daily Dollar-Cost Averaging Has Accumulated $344 Million in BTC

On the other hand, Bukele announced at the end of 2022 that El Salvador would continue to buy one Bitcoin daily until it becomes unaffordable to purchase Bitcoin with fiat currency.

To facilitate monitoring whether the country is fulfilling its commitment, the National Bitcoin Office of El Salvador announced on May 13, 2024, that it has partnered with mempool to launch a dedicated website tracking the government's Bitcoin reserves. According to the records on this website, the Salvadoran government has indeed implemented the policy of daily purchasing one Bitcoin, currently holding 5,840.76 BTC, valued at approximately $344 million.