Reviewing El Salvador’s Bukele Predictions 2022: What Went Right?

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Nayib Bukele, President of El Salvador, and a die-hard Bitcoin enthusiast, made a series predictions about the future behavior of bitcoin and the crypto ecosystem over the past year. These predictions included the top bitcoin price, the impact of cryptocurrency on U.S elections, the issuance and construction of Bitcoin City, as well as the influence of bitcoin on U.S elections. He missed the mark on many of these.
Bukele’s 2022 Predictions
Nayib Bukele, the president of El Salvador and one of the most prominent advocates of bitcoin in Latam, made a series predictions about the cryptocurrency market and its movements for 2022. These predictions covered issues such as bitcoin pricing and the impact of bitcoin on politics. They also included predictions about the development of many El Salvador-specific developments that are related to Bitcoin.
In a tweet, Jan. 1, 2022, the first prediction was about bitcoin’s eventual price. Bukele had calculated that it would reach around $100,000. This prediction was not realized as Bitcoin reached a maximum price of $47,500.
Bukele predicted that two more countries would adopt Bitcoin as legal tender. This prediction also failed to materialize. However, St. Kitts and Nevis did declare it would explore the possibility of making bitcoin cash legal tender (BCH) by March 2023 “once the safeguards for our country and our citizens are guaranteed,” as Prime Minister Terrance Drew stated Nov. 12.
Another prediction was that bitcoin would be “a major electoral issue in U.S. election this year.” Although bitcoin-related issues were part of the U.S. political and regulatory landscape during 2022, more so with the demise FTX over the last two months, this prediction also fell short of its mark by quite a bit.

El Salvador-Specific Predictions
Bukele’s second half of predictions had to do with Salvador-specific issues. This included the status of volcano bonds that would be issued by government to finance Bitcoin City and the construction of the city.
Bukele also predicted that construction of the Bitcoin City would begin last year. This is a geothermal-powered, Bitcoin mining-friendly city. This also didn’t happen. One of the last statements regarding its construction was made on Jan. 9, 2022. Bukele explained that they were drilling more wells to ensure the city has the right amount of energy.
This is also due to his fifth prediction that volcano bonds would be highly sought-after. The issuance of volcano bonds was not completed in 2022. Treasury Minister Alejandro Zelaya blamed the delay on the Russia-Ukraine conflict as well as the collapse of the cryptocurrency market for the postponement. In September, Bitfinex CTO Paolo Ardoino stated that the issuance of these bonds would be further delayed as the laws required for their issuance were still not ready
The sixth and final prediction was that a surprise would be revealed at The Bitcoin Conference in April in Miami. Bukele was unable to attend the event due to El Salvador’s gang violence. The government’s response was deemed “cruel” and inhuman by the United Nations.
What do you think of Nayib Bukele, president of El Salvador for 2022? Leave your comments below.