Web search giant Google is expanding its Cloud operations to El Salvador, the only country that has fully legalized Bitcoin as legal tender. While America still suppresses crypto and other nations embrace it, industry observers have drawn their own conclusions. This week, global tech giant Google Cloud and the government of El Salvador announced a 7-year strategic partnership pending legislative approval.
Google and the El Salvador Movement
On August 30th, Swan CEO Steven Lubka concluded that El Salvador’s adoption of Bitcoin was one of the factors.
Google’s presence in El Salvador is entirely due to their adoption of Bitcoin, and I will not argue otherwise.
Tether and VanEck advisor Gabor Gurbacs said:
Without Bitcoin and the technology and investment it brings to the region, this would not be possible.
On August 31st, President Nayib Bukele shared a video about the agreement and the benefits his country will gain from partnering with the tech giant. According to the announcement, Google Cloud will establish a legal entity and office in El Salvador.
Google Cloud stated:
We will open an office and bring digital infrastructure to El Salvador. Cloud technology will be at the heart of the country’s modernization in areas such as public services, healthcare, and education.
The partnership also focuses on three areas, including digital government. Google Cloud will assist in digitizing government processes using Distributed Cloud services. Google Cloud AI will help doctors with real-time information for healthcare services, and an integrated Education Data Platform will be implemented.
El Salvador sees this as positioning itself as a technology and innovation hub in Central America, starting with the adoption of Bitcoin. Nayib Bukele commented:
El Salvador is moving forward. We believe that technology and foreign investment are the keys to development. We are rapidly becoming an innovation hub.
Google announced that it will invest $1.2 billion in Latin America and the Caribbean over the next five years in 2022. Meanwhile, Strike, Binance, and Tether signaled their moves towards El Salvador.
The Current State of Bitcoin in El Salvador
El Salvador currently holds approximately 2,954 BTC worth about $80 million at current prices. However, investments that started in September 2021 have decreased by about 33%. Furthermore, according to Nayib Tracker, the average dollar cost of these BTC purchases is around $41,000. In November 2022, Nayib Bukele announced that they would buy 1 BTC daily going forward.
Meanwhile, BTC prices continued to rise after this week’s Grayscale court victory. The asset fell to $27,190, down 0.8% during the day, consuming gains from the short-lived pump.
