According to a post made on Tuesday by the nation’s Bitcoin-focused office, El Salvador’s long-planned Bitcoin bonds have gotten a little bit closer to reality after seemingly obtaining regulatory approval for an early 2024 issuance.
The bonds will be made available on Bitfinex Securities, a regulated branch of Bitfinex, a cryptocurrency exchange.
The National Bitcoin Office of El Salvador announced on its X handle that “The Volcano Bond has just received regulatory approval from the Digital Assets Commission (CNAD).” “We expect the bond to be issued in 2024 in the first quarter.”
Apparently confirming the approval on X, President Nayib Bukele posted “Wen volcano bond?” early on Tuesday and reposted multiple posts indicating the bonds would be issued in Q1 2024.
President Nayib Bukele announced the so-called “Volcano bonds” in 2021, not long after he signed a bill designating bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender in the nation.
With the help of the bitcoin-backed bonds, Bukele hoped to raise $1 billion, which would launch a bitcoin mining business that would only use renewable energy sources, such as the nation’s active volcanoes.
Originally scheduled for March 2022, issuance was repeatedly delayed. But at the end of November 2022, the digital assets bill was finally introduced in the Legislative Assembly, where Bukele’s party, Nuevas Ideas, has a sizable majority.
After 62 lawmakers voted in favour of the bill and 16 against it today, the legislation was ultimately passed in January 2021.
This is the second significant move centred around bitcoin in as many weeks. Previously, El Salvador launched its “Freedom VISA” programme, awarding residency to up to 1,000 individuals per year who invest at least $1 million in bitcoin or USDT stablecoins.