The President of El Salvador Nayib Bukele has announced the nation will build 20 new schools with Bitcoin profits, the Press Secretary of the Presidency’s Twitter account confirmed.
The funds come from the surplus of the Salvadoran Trust for the Adoption of Bitcoin, which is currently enjoying all-time highs at above the $60,000 price mark.
The announcement was made just after President Bukele carried out the symbolic act of laying the first stone of the first public veterinary hospital in El Salvador. That initiative was also made a reality due to the success of the country’s Bitcoin investment.
At the event, President Bukele stated that the veterinary hospital “will allow us to do 384 daily consultations, attend 128 daily emergencies, perform 64 daily dog and cat surgeries, 64 hairdressing appointments, 128 rehabilitations and 32 X-rays.” The veterinary hospital is also set to employ 300 Salvadorans.
Bukele was sure to mention that the veterinary hospital and the forthcoming school construction and repair were all made possible because the opposition to his bold national Bitcoin adoption strategy was ignored.
The construction of the 20 new “Bitcoin” schools are in addition to the 400 schools from the My New School Program, local sources report.
This comes just one week after Bitcoin broke through to an all-time high of nearly $67,000. On 28 October, President Bukele confirmed via Twitter that the Latin American nation bought the “Bitcoin price dip,” exchanging dollars for Bitcoin at a time he believed it remains undervalued by the global market.
El Salvador’s most recent purchase of 420 Bitcoin brought its national stack to 1120 Bitcoin, worth over $70 million at the time of writing. It is unclear whether the nation plans to take profits from their Bitcoin stack to fund the veterinary hospital and the new schools, or whether they plan on collateralizing the invaluable asset, and borrowing dollars to fund the projects.
Bitcoiners are eager to see what country will be next to adopt Bitcoin as nations are forced to compete or be left behind. The game-theoretic prisoner’s dilemma has begun in global politics, and nation states that adopt Bitcoin first are at a great advantage. At this time, El Salvador is the only country publicly holding Bitcoin in reserve.
