El Salvador’s eagerly awaited Bitcoin (BTC) bonds, commonly referred to as “Volcano Bonds,” have secured regulatory approval for an early 2024 release.
These bonds are slated to be made available on Bitfinex Securities, a regulated segment of the widely used cryptocurrency exchange, Bitfinex.
The National Bitcoin Office of El Salvador conveyed the regulatory green light for the “Volcano Bond” through its official X profile, stating, “The Volcano Bond has recently obtained regulatory approval from the Digital Assets Commission (CNAD). We anticipate the bond’s issuance in the first quarter of 2024. This marks the commencement of new capital markets on Bitcoin in El Salvador.”
President Nayib Bukele, a prominent supporter of Bitcoin integration in El Salvador, appears to have confirmed the approval through the social media platform X.
In an early Tuesday post, he inquired, “Wen volcano bond?” (sic), and subsequently shared multiple posts reinforcing the information that the bonds are set to be issued in the first quarter of 2024.
Volcano Bonds Expected to Raise $1 Billion
President Bukele introduced the concept of “Volcano bonds” in 2021, shortly after El Salvador officially acknowledged Bitcoin as legal tender. The objective behind these bonds was to raise $1 billion, intending to bolster a Bitcoin mining industry that relies entirely on renewable energy sources, including the power generated by the nation’s active volcanoes.
Initially planned for issuance in March 2022, the launch of the Bitcoin bonds encountered several delays.
Progress was achieved when the digital assets bill was formally presented in the Legislative Assembly in November 2022, where President Bukele’s party, Nuevas Ideas, commands a substantial majority. The bill garnered 62 affirmative votes, opposed by 16, and was successfully enacted in January 2023.
This development closely follows another noteworthy Bitcoin-centric initiative undertaken by El Salvador. The country has recently inaugurated its “Freedom VISA” program, providing residency opportunities to a maximum of 1,000 individuals each year who make investments totaling at least $1 million in Bitcoin or tether (USDT) stablecoins.
El Salvador’s Bitcoin Bet Starts to Pay Off
El Salvador’s Bitcoin investment has proven to be lucrative. According to Nayibtracker.com, a platform monitoring the country’s Bitcoin acquisitions based on President Bukele’s tweets, El Salvador stands to gain approximately $4 million in profit if it opts to sell its holdings.
In addition to El Salvador, other substantial investors in the cryptocurrency space have also witnessed substantial profits. MicroStrategy, renowned as one of the largest institutional holders of Bitcoin, has observed its unrealized profit surge to an impressive $2 billion.
As Bitcoin reached $42,000, the value of MicroStrategy’s holdings surged to about $7.3 billion, yielding a profit that exceeds $2 billion.
Similarly, Tether, the entity responsible for the world’s largest stablecoin, has experienced a noteworthy surge in the value of its Bitcoin reserves, surpassing $1 billion in profit. Presently, Tether holds 57,576 BTC, acquired at an average price of $22,480 per coin. This implies that the company’s holdings have appreciated by approximately 85%, equating to $1.1 billion, since the time of acquisition.
