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El Salvador President Nayib Bukele Calls Off Bitcoin 2022 Conference Appearance

Bukele had previously teased he would be making an important announcement at this year’s conference.

By Andrés Engler
AccessTimeIconApr 6, 2022 at 6:04 p.m. UTC
Updated May 11, 2023 at 4:05 p.m. UTC
Nayib Bukele, El Salvador's president, speaks in a prerecorded video during the United Nations General Assembly via live stream in New York, U.S., on Thursday, Sept. 23, 2021. A scaled-back United Nations General Assembly returns to Manhattan after going completely virtual last year, but fears about a possible spike in Covid-19 cases are making people in the host city less enthusiastic about the annual diplomatic gathering. Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images

President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg/Getty Images)

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El Salvador President Nayib Bukele, citing “unforeseen circumstances” that require his full attention at home, cancelled his planned participation in the Bitcoin 2022 conference in Miami.

  • He did not say what those circumstances are in the letter tweeted out by the conference organizers, although the letter says, "I will have to be in another flank in the battle for freedom."
  • El Salvador is currently in a fierce battle against criminal gangs, known as “maras.” On March 27, 62 people were killed in murders attributed to a local mara, prompting El Salvador's Legislative Assembly to suspend constitutional rights for 30 days.
  • According to El Salvador's National Police, 6,894 gang members have been arrested in the last 11 days.
  • In his letter, Bukele said he had the “sincere hope” of participating to make “another announcement, another small contribution in our fight for the liberation of money.”
  • It was at the Bitcoin 2021 conference last June that Bukele announced his plans to make bitcoin (BTC) legal tender in El Salvador. Expectations for this year's announcement included a progress report on the country’s plans for the sale of $1 billion in bitcoin bonds.

UPDATE (April 6, 14:45): Adds information in first bullet point.

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Andrés Engler
Andrés Engler

Andrés Engler was a CoinDesk editor based in Argentina, where he covers the Latin American crypto ecosystem. He holds BTC and ETH.

Follow @andresengler on Twitter

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