The Freedom Visa Offers Citizenship in the Business Country

If you ever wanted to move to the country of El Salvador, now it’s your chance! The National Bitcoin Office announced the development of the Freedom Visa program, which facilitates the increase of citizenship offerings to foreigners willing to contribute to the country’s economic innovation by donating $1 million BTC or USDT. 

While the government sees this idea as revolutionary and fit to improve Bitcoin adoption in the country, experts have different insights into citizenship-by-donation. Although the program is limited to 1,000 entries per year, some say it’s not going to ensure the best outcome. Indeed, if you want to learn how to buy Bitcoin, you have plenty of options, according to data from Binance, but the return on investment is scarce. 

The government of El Salvador stated there are already a considerable number of applications for the Visa, but the project must pass the test of time. Let’s see what it’s about. 

What is the purpose of the Freedom Visa?

The Freedom Visa is El Salvador’s last Bitcoin-related idea for developing the country into the first worldwide hub of technology and innovation. The visa is intended to gather more individuals interested in Bitcoin investments, whose contributions will shape the government into a high-tech socio-economic ecosystem. Those interested will become partners in transforming El Salvador, receiving the status of high-net-worth investors.

Along with the CEO of Tether, the government of El Salvador wants to support the community by developing high-tech payment infrastructure. The non-refundable USD deposit in Bitcoin or Tether will be accepted only if the participant passes KYC, after which the visa will be provided. The program also facilitates the approval of family members who want to join in creating a better future in El Salvador.

Why are people reticent about the Freedom Visa?

One of the main reasons experts and crypto users don’t see the point of the Visa is the lack of competitiveness it offers compared to other countries’ visa offerings. For instance, Malta ensures full citizenship for $810,000, while Turkey requires only $40,000. At the same time, numerous other European countries offer more affordable citizenship and considering that El Salvador’s economy is still developing, the offer is underwhelming for many.

The National Bitcoin Office disagrees and considers entering the Bitcoin country deserves such a price. Indeed, El Salvador is the only place in the world that made Bitcoin legal tender and didn’t give up on the project like other countries. However, this may not be the greatest way to show its effectiveness.

How great is Bitcoin in El Salvador, anyway?

Not many people were satisfied with introducing Bitcoin as legal tender and means of payment, considering that a small percent of the population barely has a smartphone or a bank account. The president’s vision of making cryptocurrency a national payment system came as a solution to the dollar hedge. However, due to the post-pandemic inflation, the market went down, and all the bitcoins bought by Nayib Bukele are going down the drain.

At the same time, the project encountered several logistical and technical issues as the country wasn’t ready, technologically speaking, for such a massive upgrade from a traditional economy. Communication was poor, and many locals didn’t really understand what’s Bitcoin good for, still relying on cash.

Overall, the Bitcoin investment wasn’t the best idea since the approximate infrastructure costs reached around $100 million of which half are unrealized losses. The president continued buying Bitcoins, hoping the situation would somehow fix itself, but it only got worse by the year.

Still, El Salvador is an excellent example of innovation

A small country with several socio-economic problems reached such a massive goal, so why wouldn’t more prominent countries attempt to adopt Bitcoin or create a more inclusive legal framework for cryptocurrencies?

Well, it’s not that easy to provide an entirely new regulation system for assets that are not fully understood. But that doesn’t mean governments haven’t approached the idea. The Caribbean nations of Saint Kitts and Nevis, Ukraine and even Venezuela are considering adopting Bitcoin, but their propositions will take some time to resolve. Ukraine, for example, developed a new Ministry of Digital Transformation through which the country received several crypto payments for food and basic supplies, given the complex situation. Hence, it may be possible for Ukraine to become the next Bitcoin hub after some years.

It takes more than will to adopt Bitcoin

Adopting Bitcoin as a legal tender raises numerous challenges for any country or state. First, controlling networks and blockchains by governments would be impossible since the main reason why people turn to crypto is the lack of third parties and intermediaries powering up transactions. Therefore, the new legal framework would have to accept decentralized systems that would be safety-proofed to protect customers.

At the same time, the cryptocurrency market is significantly volatile, leading worldwide markets into periods of bullish or bearish trends that would have considerable effects on the global economy. Financial crime might increase since users on the blockchain are anonymous, and the scarce information required for transactions would not help identify them.

But what’s more difficult to realize is that countries are at different levels of development, technology or innovation, which would hinder the process from the start. Countries like El Salvador and Germany can’t be compared, so they would need different approaches for the project to have similar outcomes. Even citizens need a higher level of digital education in order to be wary of the risks posed by using Bitcoin but also take it as a way to change the course of their financial future. The complexity of adopting Bitcoin is undoubtedly tricky, but it can be achieved in time.

Bottom line

The president of El Salvador provided a new way to attract investors and people in the country through the Freedom Visa program, which requires individuals to donate $1 million BTC or USDT in order to receive full citizenship. While this is a great idea to gather more resources for the country’s development, some say it’s an overrated price and are skeptical about its efficiency. What do you think about it?