‘Freedom Visa’: What is El Salvador’s New Plan to Boost Tourism, Revenue Via BTC

The Freedom Visa is a donation-based citizenship programme that is set to go live in early 2024.

Written by Radhika Parashar, Edited by Siddharth Suvarna | Updated: 13 December 2023 18:52 IST

‘Freedom Visa’: What is El Salvador’s New Plan to Boost Tourism, Revenue Via BTC

Photo Credit: Facebook/ Nayib Bukele

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Highlights

El Salvador recognised BTC as a legal tender in September 2021
A tax-free Bitcoin city is under construction in El Salvador
The country is looking to garner enough funds to support construction

El Salvador, the country that historically became the first in the world to ordain Bitcoin as a legal tender, has created a plan to boost its tourism industry and subsequently its economy in due time. The National Bitcoin Office (ONBTC) of the central American nation has announced a new initiative called the Freedom Visa. The development comes after a long silence from El Salvador, that is currently working to develop a tax-free, volcano-powered Bitcoin city.

The Freedom Visa is a donation-based citizenship programme. Through this, El Salvador will grant a residency visa to those willing to donate a million-dollar worth of Bitcoin or Tether into the national treasury. To do so, the Salvadoran government has partnered with stablecoin issuer Tether, it said in an official announcement earlier this month.

Tether Powers El Salvador's Visionary Freedom Visa Program Through Technology Support :flag-sv::volcano:

Experience Freedom, Security and a #Bitcoin lifestyle by adopting El Salvador as your home through the Freedom Visa Program.

For more information, please visit :arrow_down:https://t.co/QdF6XPDsO3
— Tether (@Tether_to) December 7, 2023

Each year, the country will give out only a thousand slots, the government under President Nayib Bukele has decided. The country is looking to leverage its status as a pro-Bitcoin nation, to propel its special citizenship visa plan to the masses.

“Based on the current level of interest, we expect the program to sell out by the end of the year. If anything, in fact, it is actually underpriced. While there are many citizenship programs available in the world, there is only one Bitcoin country,” a CoinTelegraph report quoted the ONBTC as saying in an email conversation.

Reacting to the development, market analyst Alistair Milne called the Salvadoran initiative rather ‘uncompetitive' comparing to other similar initiatives. Milne is the chief investment officer of Altana Digital Currency Fund.

El Salvador offering Visas and citizenship to anyone investing $1million (in USDt or Bitcoin) in the country

Frankly uncompetitive in the global market (can get EU citizenship for less) so disappointing https://t.co/ALydiMAJRj
— Alistair Milne (@alistairmilne) December 7, 2023

It's now a matter of time before the programme unfolds and we see how lucrative it ended up becoming and whether or not there will be a next edition to it.

El Salvador recently approved Bitcoin bonds that are set to be offered on Bitfinex Securities, a regulated division of crypto exchange Bitfinex, starting early 2024.

:rotating_light:BREAKING NEWS:rotating_light:

The Volcano Bond has just received regulatory approval from the Digital Assets Commission (CNAD).

We anticipate the bond will be issued during the first quarter of 2024.

This is just the beginning for new capital markets on #Bitcoin in El Salvador.

:flag-sv::volcano::rocket:
— The Bitcoin Office (@bitcoinofficesv) December 12, 2023

The so-called ‘Volcano bonds' were announced in 2021. With a minimum investment of $100 (roughly Rs. 8,170), El Salvador residents will be able to enter Volcano Bonds — that will add to the nation's economy. Any appreciation in Bitcoin's values will be shared with the bond holders.

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Further reading: Cryptocurrency, El Salvador, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Bonds

Radhika Parashar

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Radhika Parashar is a senior correspondent for Gadgets 360. She has been reporting on tech and telecom for the last three years now and will be focussing on writing about all things crypto. Besides this, she is a major sitcom nerd and often replies in Chandler Bing and Michael Scott references. For tips or queries you could reach out to her at RadhikaP@ndtv.com. More