This year’s Miss Universe contestant from El Salvador has surprised viewers by including bitcoin as part of her national costume. El Salvador has adopted cryptocurrency as legal tender and has approved a new regulatory framework for the issuance of its long-awaited bitcoin-backed Volcán bonds.
Miss Universe 2023 contestant from El Salvador, Alejandra Guajardo, wowed viewers Wednesday night with her choice of outfit. Guajardo entered the stage in the 71st Miss Universe national costume wearing a costume that represents “the evolution of the Salvadoran currency,” the official Miss Universe El Salvador Instagram account described, adding that the costume is designed by Francisco Guerrero.
The national costume of Miss El Salvador shows cocoa beans, the colón, the US dollar and the Bitcoin symbol. Originally, cocoa was used as currency in El Salvador. The colón was the official currency of El Salvador from 1892 until it was replaced by the US dollar in January 2001. The predominant colors of the suit are gold, silver and bronze.
Bitcoin is now legal tender in El Salvador along with the US dollar. El Salvador became the first country to give legal tender to the world’s largest cryptocurrency in September 2021. Since then, the country, led by pro-bitcoin president Nayib Bukele, has bought thousands of BTC for its treasury. In November of last year, Bukele announced that his country would buy bitcoin every day.
On Wednesday, the Salvadoran Legislative Assembly approved the digital asset issuance law that was proposed last November. It includes a new regulatory framework for the issuance of bitcoin-backed Volcán bonds. “This new digital asset regulatory framework paves the way for its long-awaited Volcano token issuance,” according to the Market Times, which will be the technology provider for the nation’s Volcano token.
