El Salvador plans first 'Bitcoin City', backed by bitcoin bonds

FILE PHOTO: El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele speaks during a ceremony to lay the first stone of Chivo Vet, a veterinary hospital financed with the gains El Salvador has obtained from its bitcoin operations, in Antiguo Cuscatlan, El Salvador November 1, 2021. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas

MIZATA, El Salvador (Reuters) -El Salvador plans to build the world's first "Bitcoin City", funded initially by bitcoin-backed bonds, President Nayib Bukele said on Saturday, doubling down on his bet to harness the crypto currency to fuel investment in the Central American country.

Speaking at an event closing a week-long promotion of bitcoin in El Salvador, Bukele said the city planned in the eastern region of La Union would get geothermal power from a volcano and not levy any taxes except for value added tax (VAT).