El Salvador Seeks Support from Binance in Quest for Local Bitcoin Adoption

According to a recent Reuters report, El Salvador has welcomed Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) to help accelerate bitcoin uptake across the general population.

Changpeng Zhao in El Salvador

Milena Mayorga, the El Salvador ambassador to the US, shared a Twitter post confirming the Binance head’s arrival on Wednesday. Mayorga reiterated that the world’s most prominent crypto exchange CEO would help with his government’s plans to implement bitcoin as legal tender. The ambassador told reporters that Zhao was set to hold talks with President Nayib Bukele on Thursday. The meeting aims to jumpstart the country’s strategy for widespread adoption of bitcoin, which has stalled due to public skepticism of the digital asset class. Since El Salvador adopted bitcoin as legal cash last September, the world’s first crypto has retraced nearly 35% from its $64k record high. The dip has resulted in rocky adoption rates across El Salvador, with an overwhelming percent of merchants shying away from the volatile virtual asset.

CZ Praises El Salvador’s Move to Embrace Bitcoin 

Zhao jetted into El Salvadore to help bolster the country’s pioneering position in adopting bitcoin. The Binance head hailed the unprecedented bet by president Bukele to embrace BTC as legal tender, reiterating that the bullish stance would go down in history as a “heroic” gamble on the future of global finance. The Binance CEO’s visit is seen as a vote of confidence in the Central American country’s decision to warm up to the digital asset class. However, some interpreted the CZ visit as an attempt by the Central American government to salvage its stalled debut $1 billion bitcoin-backed bonds scheduled to launch in mid-March. The bonds linked to bitcoin are widely referred to as the “volcano bond” due to the El Salvador government’s illustrious plans to harness volcanoes to generate geothermal power to mine BTC. The bond offering has drawn the ire of leading economists and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Marc Chandler, the chief Market strategist at Bannockburn Global, earlier suggested that El Salvador’s foray into bitcoin-backed bonds could be a gimmick aimed at reducing interest rates. However, Bukele was quick to shoot down FUD suggesting that Zhao’s visit was an attempt to salvage El Salvador’s bitcoin bond sale amid the country’s distressed-debt situation.

“I’m meeting with cz binance tomorrow to discuss OTHER issues, not the Volcano Bonds. Unless he wants to buy some, of course, ” the president tweeted.

Why El Salvador Delayed Issuance of Its Bitcoin Bonds

El Salvador has been pushing hard to implement BTC as a legal tender since September 2021. The government has hired former Blockstream exec Samson Mow to help solve some of the technical issues hindering mainstream adoption. On Tuesday, Bukele’s administration announced halting their bitcoin bond issuance until more favorable conditions emerged in the global financial market. In a local television interview, Finance Minister Alejandro Zelaya blamed the delay on the ongoing conflict in Europe that has significantly increased bitcoin’s volatility.