Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin-Bond Sale Flop Deepens Debt Market Rout in El Salvador
- Plan to sell $1 billion Bitcoin-backed bonds has stalled
- El Salvador has $800 million bond coming due in January 2023
Anti-Bitcoin graffiti in San Salvador, El Salvador.
Photographer: Camilo Freedman/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
For five months now, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele has been trying to hawk a Bitcoin-backed bond to international investors. This, he’s insisted, is a better option than turning to multilateral lenders in Washington for more conventional financing.
It’s not working. Bukele, a devout believer in crypto currencies, has yet to receive a single penny of the $1 billion he’s seeking, and this -- along with stalled talks with the International Monetary Fund -- is deepening concern among creditors that the country will fail to pay back an $800 million bond at the start of next year.