El Salvador, the first nation to experiment with Bitcoin as national currency, has an $800 million bond due in January, according to Moody’s.
Nevertheless, with the government yet to introduce legislation necessary for the bond to move forward, the clock is ticking.
It’s intended to raise $1 billion: $500 million in Bitcoin for the treasury, and $500 million to fund development for a “Bitcoin City” powered by geothermal Bitcoin mining.
The nation’s finance minister claimed at the time that Russia’s war with Ukraine had affected the price of Bitcoin, and thus made it an inopportune time to launch the product.
Regardless of the reasons, the delay puts much-needed funds out of reach for the Salvadoran government.
However, the country has abandoned talks with the IMF, which disapproved of both El Salvador’s and the Central African Republic’s adoption of Bitcoin.
Their words contradict the opinions of institutions like Moody’s and Fitch, which have both cut El Salvador’s credit rating in recent months.