El Salvador to Invest $1.6B in Bitcoin City Development

The El Salvadoran government will receive over $1.6 billion in private funding from the Turkish company Yilport Holdings to develop its visionary Bitcoin City project and ports. This investment, to be released in phases, is regarded as the most significant private investment in the country’s history.

El Salvador to Raise $1.6B

Yilport Holdings is funneling this cash into two of El Salvador’s seaports—the Acajutla Seaport and the La Union Seaport. The latter has been inactive due to outdated facilities and limited shipping operations.

Yilport Holdings and the Autonomous Executive Port Commission (CEPA) will operate the struggling La Union port for the next fifty years. The $1.6 billion investment will be rolled out starting at the end of this year.

El Salvador’s Bitcoin City will be built in the La Union region. The country’s president, Nayib Bukule, initially proposed the Bitcoin City in November 2021. He explained that the city would be built at the base of the Conchagua volcano. The president projects that geothermal energy from the volcano will power Bitcoin mining operations.

The city was planned to include residential and commercial areas and be financed with crypto bonds. This recent investment shows continued progress towards Bitcoin City development.

El Salvador’s Growing Bitcoin Ecosystem

After embracing Bitcoin as a legal tender in September 2021, El Salvador has introduced multiple initiatives to support and increase its adoption of BTC.

In May, the country’s government mined 474 BTC using geothermal energy from the Tecapa volcano. The latest move to enable Bitcoin mining activities at the Conchagua volcano indicates that the country aims to leverage its natural resources to bolster BTC adoption.

While at it, the El Salvadoran government aims to boost transparency regarding its Bitcoin stash. Since May 2024, the country’s mempool has displayed the live Bitcoin treasury holdings. Current data shows it currently has over 5840 BTC (worth over $346.9 million).