There were a few interesting nuggets of information in this announcement. For one, there will be no income tax in Bitcoin City — only a value added tax that's charged when purchases are made.
El Salvador has unveiled plans to build the world's first "Bitcoin City."
President Nayib Bukele made the announcement during an appearance on the final day of the country's Bitcoin conference.
Based in La Unión, the metropolis will be powered by geothermal energy from nearby volcanoes — something El Salvador has already been harnessing in order to mine Bitcoin.
There were a few interesting nuggets of information in this announcement. For one, there will be no income tax in Bitcoin City — only a value added tax that's charged when purchases are made.
Revenues derived from this VAT would be used to fund the city's construction and keep streets "neat and clean."
Wearing a baseball cap backward as he spoke to a raucous crowd, Bukele said:
"Residential areas, commercial areas, services, museums, entertainment, bars, restaurants, airport, port, rail — everything devoted to Bitcoin."
This would even extend to the shape of the city itself, which will be circular in a homage to Bitcoin. The president added:
"Invest here and make all the money you want. This is a fully ecological city that works and is energized by a volcano."
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Bitcoin Bonds
It's an ambitious project — and construction is due to begin next year.
El Salvador is planning to raise $1 billion through the use of a "Bitcoin Bond." Half of these funds will be earmarked for investing in the cryptocurrency, while the other half will be devoted to infrastructure for energy and BTC mining.
This bond is being pursued through a partnership with Blockstream, and investors are being promised that they'll receive a dividend.
It's nearly been three months since El Salvador controversially embraced Bitcoin as legal tender, and the latest announcement proves that the president's enthusiasm for crypto is far from waning.
Of course, plans for vibrant crypto-themed cities have been unveiled before to much fanfare… only to fall by the wayside.
Last year, the R&B star Akon announced he plans to build a futuristic metropolis in Senegal — called AKON CITY.
Inspired by Wakanda, the proposals envisaged that the city would be powered by its very own cryptocurrency called Akoin.
But one year later and construction had yet to begin, with locals confused as to whether the project was going ahead.
