El Salvador courts crypto ‘whales’ as traditional investors shun bitcoin bond

El Salvador courts crypto ‘whales’ as traditional investors shun bitcoin bond

El Salvador’s $1bn bitcoin-backed bond could tap deep wells of capital among cryptocurrency enthusiasts for financial support after many big international investors have shunned the project.

Demand from bitcoin “whales” — investors holding large quantities of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency — is likely to be crucial to fundraising for the bond, according to people involved with the effort.

Paolo Ardoino, chief technology officer at Bitfinex — which is set to provide the tech platform for the deal — said the crypto exchange has received “half a billion dollars” of interest from its users. Important details of the bond will need to be ironed out, requiring the passage of new securities laws in El Salvador, before potential buyers firm up their interest, he added.

“Some of our users have proactively reached out to us to express their interest. They are definitely interested in participating in this but they are waiting for the details to be published,” Ardoino said. He added that the exchange would not be involved in marketing for the bond.

The issuance of El Salvador’s debt product comes just over a year after the country became the first to adopt bitcoin as legal tender, with the enthusiastic backing of President Nayib Bukele.

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