According to Cointelegraph, El Salvador has the potential to become a financial center in the Americas, similar to Singapore, according to VanEck strategy advisor Gabor Gurbacs. He believes that new capital investment and immigration will drive the country's economic growth in the coming years. Gurbacs' comments come after a post by U.S. broadcaster and Bitcoiner Max Keiser, who now lives in El Salvador, listing reasons why the Central American country should be on everyone's radar, including Bitcoin and the U.S. dollar's legal tender status, a decrease in crime, and great beaches and coffee.
El Salvador's emerging economy gained prominence when Nayib Bukele became the country's president in June 2019. The nation's sovereign bonds have outperformed many other emerging markets, yielding a 70% return by August 2023, attracting the attention of investment management firms like JPMorgan and Eaton Vance. In September 2021, Bukele and the El Salvador government made Bitcoin legal tender and rolled out a Bitcoin custodial wallet, Chivo Wallet, for all El Salvadorans. The country is also utilizing its volcanic resources to power a Bitcoin mining operation startup, Volcano Energy, which launched in June with a $1 billion investment and has Max Keiser as its executive chairman.
El Salvador appointed Dr. Saifedean Ammous, the author of 'The Bitcoin Standard,' as an economic advisor to the National Bitcoin Office in May. The country plans to accumulate Bitcoin as a strategy to clear its debt within the next five years. Bukele also eliminated all taxes on technology innovations in April, which could attract more entrepreneurs and foreign capital to the country.
