How El Salvador is Becoming the Singapore of the Americas with Bitcoin

El Salvador is on the path to becoming a financial hub in the Americas, thanks to its adoption of Bitcoin and other pro-growth policies. The Central American country has been attracting attention from investors, entrepreneurs and Bitcoin enthusiasts who see it as a land of opportunity.

One of them is Gabor Gurbacs, strategy advisor of investment management firm VanEck. He believes that El Salvador can emulate Singapore’s success story and become a major economic player in the region. He wrote in an X post on Oct. 28:

“I say often to portfolio managers and asset allocators that El Salvador has the potential to become the Singapore of the Americas.”

Singapore transformed itself from a poor fishing village to a wealthy global city-state in the second half of the 20th century. It did so by opening up its economy, attracting foreign capital and talent, and fostering innovation and entrepreneurship.

Gurbacs expects El Salvador to follow a similar trajectory, driven by new capital investment and immigration. He was responding to an Oct. 28 post by Max Keiser, a U.S. broadcaster and Bitcoiner who now lives in El Salvador. Keiser urged people to move to El Salvador, calling it “The New Land of the Free.”

Keiser listed some of the reasons why El Salvador is appealing, such as:

• Bitcoin and the U.S. dollar are both legal tender
• Crime rates have dropped significantly
• The country has beautiful beaches and delicious coffee

El Salvador’s economic prospects improved when Nayib Bukele became president in June 2019. He has implemented several bold initiatives to boost growth and development, such as:

• Making Bitcoin legal tender in September 2021 and launching a Bitcoin custodial wallet, Chivo Wallet, for all citizens
• Starting a Bitcoin mining operation, Volcano Energy, powered by geothermal energy from volcanoes
• Hiring Dr. Saifedean Ammous, the author of “The Bitcoin Standard”, as an economic advisor to the National Bitcoin Office
• Eliminating all taxes on technology innovations to attract more entrepreneurs and foreign capital

Furthermore, El Salvador’s sovereign bonds have outperformed many other emerging markets this year, returning 70% by August. The country has also caught the eye of JPMorgan and other large investment banks. A year ago it was reported that the country’s Bitcoin adoption had paid off in getting its tourism back on track also.

Lastly the country plans to accumulate Bitcoin as a strategy to pay off its debt within the next five years. Bukele hopes that Bitcoin will help his country achieve financial inclusion, stability and prosperity. Bukele has made a good name for himself in the last years of regularly buying the dip.

In December of 2022, venture entrepreneur Tim Draper, already predicted that the move to make Bitcoin legal tender in the country would pay off for El Salvador in the long run.