El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele has revealed plans for a new city funded by Bitcoin, which will be built on the side of a volcano in the south of the country.

The project, designed by Mexican architect Fernando Romero of FR-EE studio, is planned to be funded by the sale of a Bitcoin bond, with geothermal energy from the nearby Conchagua volcano powering the city.

The circular city, inspired by the shape of a Bitcoin, will radiate out from a central plaza marked with the Bitcoin logo.

Bukele revealed a golden model of the city on Twitter, alongside realistic renders and images of planned landmark buildings.

Despite the model’s golden colour, Bukele clarified that the city itself would not be entirely made of gold.

“No, the city won’t be made up of golden metal; that is just the architect’s choice of color for the scale model,” he explained.

“The actual city will be mostly green (trees) and blue (sea),” he continued. “With a beautiful lookout in the volcano.”

El Salvador’s proposed Bitcoin City, which will be built on the side of a volcano in the south of the country, is part of President Nayib Bukele’s push to embrace the cryptocurrency.

The country made Bitcoin its official currency last year.

The $10 billion bond to finance the city will be half invested in Bitcoin and half in building infrastructure.

Bitcoin City will be powered by geothermal energy from the volcano, which will also be used for Bitcoin mining – a process that requires significant energy.

The El Salvadorian government has not yet provided details on the project’s timescale.

Singer Akon also signed an agreement with the government of Senegal in 2020 to build a cryptocurrency-based economy named Akon City.