Pro-Bitcoin president of El Salvador to offer citizenship for foreign investors
Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele wants to offer citizenship to those who invest in the small Central American nation.
President Bukele took to Twitter to inform the crypto community on Sunday that he was sending a list of 52 legal reforms to Congress. Among the most notable proposals, Bukele called for the removal of red tape, reducing bureaucracy, creating tax incentives and, most importantly, offering citizenships to foreigners looking to invest in the nation.
I’m sending 52 legal reforms to congress, to remove red tape, reduce bureaucracy, create tax incentives, citizenship in exchange for investments, new securities laws, stability contracts, etc.
The plan is simple: as the world falls into tyranny, we’ll create a haven for freedom.
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) February 20, 2022
The president promised to make El Salvador one of the most freedom-centric countries at a time when the world is falling into “Tyranny.”
Bukele has become a flag bearer for Bitcoin (BTC) adoption but an equally controversial figure in international politics for the same reasons. Recently, a bipartisan group of senators in the United States introduced new legislation, seeking to mitigate risks posed by El Salvador’s adoption of BTC as a legal tender.
Related: El Salvador to inaugurate Bitcoin City backed by $1B BTC bonds
President Bukele rebuked the new legislation and called the U.S. senators “boomers” while reminding them that they have zero jurisdictions on a sovereign and independent nation.
OK boomers…
You have 0 jurisdiction on a sovereign and independent nation.
We are not your colony, your back yard or your front yard.
Stay out of our internal affairs.
Don’t try to control something you can’t control
https://t.co/pkejw6dtYn— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) February 16, 2022
El Salvador is all set to launch its much anticipated billion-dollar Bitcoin Volcanic bonds in March next month. The funds generated from the bonds would be used to build the world’s first Bitcoin city.
El Salvador made history last year in September when it became the first country in the world to make Bitcoin a legal tender alongside the U.S. dollar. While most international organizations, including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, continued to issue warnings against the ill impacts of using BTC as a legal tender, the country reportedly achieved a gross domestic product growth of over 10%, the highest in its history.
El Salvador’s GDP grew 10.3% in 2021.
And now its exports (a main driver of economic growth) grew 13% this January, compared to January 2021.
Are we looking at another double digit GDP growth this year?
By the way, El Salvador never had a double digit GDP growth before 2021. https://t.co/f9yMkPpLNJ
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) February 19, 2022