El Salvador Is Opening a ‘Bitcoin Embassy’ in Texas to Widen Adoption

• El Salvador plans to open a “Bitcoin Embassy” in the US as it pushes for wider adoption of crypto. 
• El Salvador, the first country to adopt bitcoin as legal tender, said the office will be based in Texas. 
• It’s already embarked on the embassy idea, reaching a deal with Switzerland last year. 

El Salvador is planning to open a “Bitcoin Embassy” in the US, continuing to push for wider adoption of the cryptocurrency even after losing millions of dollars on its high-profile bets on the token. 

“The state of Texas, our new ally,” Milena Mayorga, El Salvador’s ambassador to the United States, said in tweet Tuesday to her nearly 376,000 followers. The El Salvadoran government office will be opened in Texas as part of a partnership between the state and the country that in 2021 became the first in the world to authorize bitcoin as legal tender. 

Mayorga noted that her country and Texas logged more than $1.2 trillion in commercial exchange in 2022. She highlighted that figure in showcasing her discussions with Joe Esparza, the deputy secretary of state in Texas, about expanding commercial and economic projects, including a so-called “Bitcoin Embassy.” 

El Salvador has already reached beyond its borders to push for bitcoin adoption. Mayorga in October said it planned a bitcoin office in Lugano, Switzerland for the countries to work together on initiatives “to drive the adoption of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies,” in their respective regions.

El Salvador as of November 2022 had purchased 2,381 bitcoin. At Wednesday’s price around $23,056, the country’s holding was worth about $55 million. A Bloomberg calculation in November estimated the government had paid about $105 million for the cryptocurrency, basing its analysis on tweets from El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele. 

Bitcoin’s value has plummeted from a high of $69,000 in November 2021, but has recovered from lows during the crypto winter that dragged most cryptocurrency prices lower. Bitcoin so far in 2023 has jumped by nearly 40% after losing roughly 60% of its value in 2022.