El Salvador to Host Bitcoin Conference, More Than 40 Countries Invited
El Salvador President Nayib Bukele has announced that the country is hosting an international conference of central bank representatives. El Salvador will host an international Bitcoin event where 44 central banks and major financial institutions have been invited. According to President Bukele, El Salvador has invited 32 central banks and 12 financial authorities from different countries. These financial authorities will discuss the benefits of Bitcoin adoption in El Salvador and its impact on areas like financial inclusion, digital economy, and banking for the unbanked.
Set to attend the event are officials from countries such as Paraguay, Angola, Ghana, Namibia, Uganda, Guinea, Madagascar, Haiti, Burundi, Eswatini (Swaziland), Jordan, Gambia, the Honduras, Maldives, Rwanda, Nepal, Kenya, Pakistan, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Egypt, Nigeria, Senegal, Dominica, Mauritania, Congo, Armenia, and Bangladesh.
Tomorrow, 32 central banks and 12 financial authorities (44 countries) will meet in El Salvador to discuss financial inclusion, digital economy, banking the unbanked, the #Bitcoin rollout and its benefits in our country.
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) May 16, 2022
Organised by the Alliance for Financial Inclusion, a global policy leadership alliance, and in partnership with El Salvador’s central bank, the conference will run for three days.
The move comes days after El Salvador’s government added another 500 Bitcoin to its stockpile, marking its largest purchase yet of the cryptocurrency amid the broad market rout.
According to Bukele, the purchase was made at an average price of $30,744 (roughly Rs. 24 lakh) per Bitcoin — or about $15.5 million (roughly Rs. 120 crore) total. Previously, El Salvador’s largest purchase was on January 21, when it bought 410 tokens for an average price of $36,585 (roughly Rs. 28.5 lakh).
The country’s Bitcoin reserves are now up to 2,301 tokens, according to Bloomberg data.