EL Salvador asks Binance cryptocurrency exchange to help the country’s financial authorities in the implementation of Bitcoin (BTC) as legal currency and the now delayed Bitcoin bond issuance.
A Reuters report published on Thursday, March 24, cites El Salvador’s ambassador to the United States Milena Mayorga who said to media that the country’s administration had asked the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume to assist in the wider adoption of Bitcoin in the country.
As part of these efforts, Milena Mayorga notes that Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) is visiting El Salvador and plans to meet President Nayib Bukele on Thursday.
Nayib Bukele Confirms the Meeting but Denies Bitcoin Bond Discussion
The Reuters report says that El Salvador is seeking collaboration with Binance to help in its efforts to make Bitcoin a widely adopted currency as well as to issue now delayed Bitcoin-backed Volcano Bonds.
In his Twitter response, the El Salvador president confirmed the meeting with CZ but noted that it would not involve anything related to Bitcoin bonds. Bitcoin bonds will be issued with Bitfinex as planned. He tweeted:
I’m a fan of @BitcoinMagazine, please don’t spread @Reuters FUD.
The #Bitcoin Volcano Bonds 🌋 will be issued with @bitfinex.
The short delay in the issuance is only because we are prioritizing internal pension reform and we have to send that to congress before. https://t.co/chUGgdDBDc
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) March 23, 2022
“I’m a fan of @BitcoinMagazine, please don’t spread @Reuters FUD.
The #Bitcoin Volcano Bonds will be issued with @bitfinex.
The short delay in the issuance is only because we are prioritizing internal pension reform and we have to send that to congress before.”
Bukele added:
I’m meeting with @cz_binance tomorrow to discuss OTHER issues, not the Volcano Bonds 🌋
Unless he wants to buy some, of course 😉#Bitcoin fixes FUD!
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) March 23, 2022
“I’m meeting with @cz_binance tomorrow to discuss OTHER issues, not the Volcano Bonds
Unless he wants to buy some, of course
#Bitcoin fixes FUD!”
The Binance chief also confirmed the meeting by replying “Looking forward to it. Plenty to discuss.”
https://twitter.com/cz_binance/status/1506773205943566342
El Salvador Delays Bitcoin Bonds Issuance
As Wealth Growth Insights reported earlier, the El Salvador government initially planned to launch the issuance of much-anticipated Bitcoin-backed Volcano Bonds between March 15 and March 20. However, the recent reports suggest that the authorities have postponed the issuance citing unfavorable conditions in the financial market inflicted by the Russia Ukraine crisis.
Furthermore, reports from local media also reveal that Congress is yet to finalize the necessary regulations for Bitcoin bonds. As of March 15, the laws necessary for the bonds had not been sent to Congress. Bukele recent tweet also confirms this fact as he highlights that the short delay in the issuance is only because they are “prioritizing internal pension reform and we have to send that to congress before.”
No new date has yet been announced however, in an interview with a local TV, Finance Minister Alejandro Zelaya said that it would be in the first half of the year.
