“Sovereign Government Backs Volcano-Powered Magic Internet Money” (This is as Real as it is Wild)
TL;DR
El Salvador is using Volcanos to mine Bitcoin, and you can now buy a government-backed 10-year 'Volcano Bond.’
You buy a Volcano Bond → the government will buy it back from you in 10 years → in the meantime, you get to collect 6.5% annual interest on your investment.
The purchase of a Volcano Bond reads as a bet on the idea that Bitcoin will find its way into global legacy financial systems and become an integral part of global capital markets.
Full Story
This feels like one of those "imagine if you could go back five years and tell your past self that this was about to become a reality" moments.
A sovereign government is backing volcano-powered magic internet money.
Or rather, El Salvador is using Volcanos to mine Bitcoin, and you can now buy a government-backed 10-year 'Volcano Bond.'
(What!?)
The basic gist is this:
You buy a Volcano Bond → the government will buy it back from you in 10 years → in the meantime, you get to collect 6.5% annual interest on your investment.
Bonds (as an investment vehicle) are more conservative than your great uncle Ray, who you used to tell you to "stop cussing" when you'd say "this sucks."
In buying a bond, you're basically trying to take the safest bet humanly possible.
But ah, 'Bitcoin'? 'Volcano mining'? These terms don't exactly scream 'safe, conservative investment.'
So what's going on here?
From where we're standing, the purchase of a Volcano Bond reads as a bet on the idea that Bitcoin will find its way into global legacy financial systems and become an integral part of global capital markets.
Because a purchase of a Volcano Bond puts money in the pocket of a country that's doing exactly that (within its own borders).
If you think think this is a winning strategy, you'll probably be confident that El Salvador will be able to buy back/pay interest on any Volcano Bonds you buy.
What a time to be alive!