El Salvador: The Singapore of the Americas for Bitcoin-Friendly Investors

El Salvador as the Singapore of the Americas

Gabor Gurbacs, strategy advisor of investment management firm VanEck, believes El Salvador could replicate Singapore’s success as a financial center in the Americas. “I often tell portfolio managers and asset allocators that El Salvador has the potential to become the Singapore of the Americas,” Gurbacs said in an Oct. 28 X post.

Just like Singapore in the late 1900s, Gurbacs expects capital investment and immigration to be the main catalysts for El Salvador’s economic growth in the coming years. His remarks were in response to a post by United States broadcaster and Bitcoiner Max Keiser, which was captioned “Move to #ElSalvador, The New Land of the Free.”

The idea of El Salvador becoming a crypto haven was further reinforced by JPMorgan’s recent announcement that it would issue its own cryptocurrency. The news, which was welcomed with enthusiasm by the crypto community, serves as a reminder that the world is moving towards web 3.0 technology.

El Salvador and Crypto

Keiser, who now resides in El Salvador, shared some of the reasons why the Central American country should draw attention, such as Bitcoin (BTC) and the U.S. dollar’s legal tender status, a decrease in El Salvadoran crime, great beaches and coffee.

President Nayib Bukele’s appointment in June 2019 brought El Salvador’s emerging economy to the forefront.

El Salvador’s sovereign bonds have seen a remarkable 70% return by August, which caught the attention of JPMorgan and other large investment banks.

In September 2021, Bukele and the El Salvador government made Bitcoin legal tender and launched the Chivo Wallet, a Bitcoin custodial wallet for all El Salvadorans.

El Salvador’s Crypto Initiatives

In June, El Salvador launched Volcano Energy, a Bitcoin mining operation startup, backed by a $1 billion investment. The company’s executive chairman is Max Keiser. In October, the first mining pool was established through a partnership with Bitcoin miners Luxor Technology.

In May, El Salvador appointed Dr. Saifedean Ammous, the author of “The Bitcoin Standard” as an economic advisor to the National Bitcoin Office. El Salvador plans to use Bitcoin as a way to pay off its debt within five years.

In April, President Nayib Bukele made a bold move to eliminate all taxes on technology innovations, which could attract more entrepreneurs and foreign capital to the country.