El Salvador to open a ‘Bitcoin Embassy’ in the United States

Published at: Feb. 15, 2023

The world’s biggest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin (BTC), is connecting more countries as the government of El Salvador is opening a “Bitcoin Embassy” in the United States.

El Salvador, a country that adopted Bitcoin as legal tender in 2021, is expanding its Bitcoin strategy with a new partnership with the government of Texas. The intergovernmental collaboration aims to set up a Bitcoin Embassy, or El Salvador’s representative office, in Texas in order to work on new joint projects to promote Bitcoin adoption.

Milena Mayorga, ambassador of El Salvador to the United States, announced the news in a statement on Twitter on Feb. 14.

“In my meeting with the assistant secretary of the government of Texas, Joe Esparza, we discussed the opening of the second Bitcoin Embassy and the expansion of commercial and economic exchange projects,” Mayorga said.

El estado de Texas, nuestro nuevo aliado. En mi encuentro con el Secretario Adjunto del Gobierno de Texas, Joe Esparza @TXsecofstate, abordamos la apertura de la segunda Embajada #Bitcoin y de ampliar los proyectos de intercambios comerciales y económicos. pic.twitter.com/NcmOjeadl6

— Milena Mayorga (@MilenaMayorga) February 14, 2023

The latest Bitcoin initiative comes a few months after El Salvador opened the first Bitcoin Embassy in Switzerland’s southern city of Lugano in October. As part of the efforts, the two pro-crypto jurisdictions started working to establish a physical governmental presence in an effort to promote cooperation with educational and research institutions in relation to Bitcoin.

According to former Blockstream chief strategy officer Samson Mow, the phenomenon of the Bitcoin Embassy is the next step in nation-states and cities adopting Bitcoin. Such initiatives imply cooperation between countries to develop new initiatives like establishment of alliances between places that have adopted Bitcoin, he said.

Related: El Salvador’s ‘limited’ use of Bitcoin prevents forecasted risks, says IMF

The news comes amid Texas lawmakers reportedly considering a new bill calling for a “a master plan for the expansion of the blockchain industry.” The legal initiative aims to turn Texas into the crypto capital of the country by introducing tax-free shopping with Bitcoin, among other proposals.

As previously reported, Texas has emerged as one of crypto-friendly U.S. states, passing crypto-friendly laws aiming to better adapt commercial laws to blockchain innovation and digital asset regulations. Texas is also home to some of the largest Bitcoin miners in North America, with major mining companies like Riot Blockchain, Core Scientific and Genesis Digital Assets operating in the state.

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