El Salvador was appropriately represented in the preparatory competition of the Miss Universe pageant. Actress and model Alejandra Guajardo chose to wear a bitcoin (BTC) based costume during her walk on stage.
Bitcoin costume
In a message dated January 12 on her Instagram account, in which she also tags Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, Guajardo shows herself flourishing on stage with a giant ‘colón’ – one of El Salvador’s accepted currencies until 2003 – strapped to her back adorned with cocoa beans. In her right hand she carries a staff with a large physical version of bitcoin on it.
The cocoa beans were chosen as a detail for this costume for a reason, since cocoa has long been used as currency in the Central American country. The colón was the currency of El Salvador from 1919 and has since been completely replaced by the US dollar. The colón was printed until 2001 and was still used until 2003.
In 2021, El Salvador became the first country to embrace bitcoin by adopting it as legal tender. This makes the costume a kind of history lesson about different payment methods in El Salvador. “You don’t need a sash to walk around dressed as cash” was announced as Guajardo drew all the attention of the crowd.
The bitcoin revolution
On September 7, 2021, Nayib Bukele announced that bitcoin had officially become legal tender. That same day, the country also bought 400 BTC, marking the beginning of many purchases. According to Bitcoin Treasures, the ‘bitcoin country’ now owns 2,381 BTC. In November you could still read in the Bitcoin news that Bukele had announced that the country would buy 1 BTC per day.
Despite the criticism coming in from all quarters, Bukele is going ahead with his plan to embrace bitcoin. For example, the ‘National Bitcoin Office’ was recently opened to oversee all bitcoin projects in the country. The country is also doing everything it can to buy more bitcoin and to build a so-called ‘Bitcoin City’. Earlier today you could also read that the bitcoin bonds seem to be getting closer