El Salvador has passed a new law to grant citizenship to foreign Bitcoin investors. The country’s congress approved a migration law granting expedited citizenship to foreigners who make Bitcoin “donations” to government social and economic development programs. The law is expected to come to fruition in the next few days.
The country’s legislature passed the reform late Wednesday evening with support from President Nayib Bukele’s New Ideas party. The law does not cite any minimum “donation” requirement. With Bukele aiming for re-election in February’s election, the Salvadoran official aims to further develop the country’s Bitcoin project. El Salvador is one of the most Bitcoin-forward countries in South America. In 2021, the country established BTC as a national currency. However, country-wide implementation is still a work in progress.
Furthermore, the new citizenship reform cites “altruistic foreigners interested in supporting the economic, social and cultural development of El Salvador … by donating bitcoin.” The reform says that those who qualify would skip the normal requirement for the naturalization process of five years of permanent residence for anyone from a non-Spanish-speaking country.
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On December 11, El Salvador’s National Bitcoin Office (ONBTC) revealed that the country’s Volcano Bond was greenlit by the nation’s Digital Assets Commission (CNAD). ONBTC expects the bond will launch in Q1 2024, and further push plans for the country’s “Bitcoin City”.