El Salvador Bitcoin bond delayed due to security concerns: Bitfinex CTO

El Salvador, the Central American country that adopted Bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender in September last year, has again delayed the launch of its billion-dollar Bitcoin bond.

The Bitcoin bond, also known as a volcanic bond, or volcanic token, was first announced in November 2021 as a way to issue token bonds and raise $1 billion in return from investors. . The fundraiser will then be used to build a Bitcoin City and buy more BTC.

The bond was scheduled to be issued in the first quarter of 2022 but was postponed to September following unfavorable market conditions and geopolitical crises. However, earlier this week, Paolo Ardoino, Chief Technology Officer at Bitfinex and Tether, revealed that the Bitcoin bond would be postponed again until the end of the year.

Ardoino, in an exclusive chat with the Cointelegraph, revealed that the current launch delay could be attributed to internal security issues where the country’s security forces have had to deal with the scourge of gang violence in the country. This diverted attention from government resources, and “the delay in the launch of the Volcano Token should be seen in this context.”

Bitfinex is the main infrastructure partner of the Salvadoran government responsible for processing transactions arising from the sale of Volcanic tokens. However, Bitfinex must first acquire an issuance license from the government, which would be granted after the passage of the Digital Securities Bill expected in September.

Ardoino confirmed that the final version of the bill is ready, and they expect the bill to pass in the coming weeks, as President Nayib Bukele’s party holds the majority. He said:

“We are confident that the law will gain congressional approval in the coming weeks, assuming the country has the stability necessary for such legislation to pass.”

Bitfinex Securities El Salvador, SA de CV “will apply for a license to operate within El Salvador’s digital securities regulatory framework once it is enacted,” he added.

While several reports and market experts have blamed the decline in investor interest and the current downturn in the crypto market, Ardoino believes the idea behind the Bitcoin bond would pique investor interest regardless of conditions. of the market.

Related: El Salvador’s “My First Bitcoin”: How to Teach a Nation About Crypto

He added that the bitcoin bond has the potential to accelerate the adoption of BTC. He cited the example of memecoins and explained:

“When you consider that the memecoin, Dogecoin, was able to achieve a market capitalization of $48 billion, there is clearly enough investor appetite in the digital token economy to sustain a billion dollar volcano. “

After making BTC legal tender on September 7, 2021, El Salvador has accumulated over 2,301 BTC for approximately $103.9 million. During the bull market, the profit from the investment was even used to build schools and hospitals, however, with the current market downturn, BTC holdings are currently worth around $45 million.