The financing mechanism was called "Volcano Bonds" -- $1 billion in Bitcoin-backed securities. Half the proceeds would fund the city's construction and cryptocurrency mining operations. The other half would be invested in Bitcoin, on the expectation that the currency's value would appreciate. Buyers were expected to be crypto investors; among the earliest backers was Brock Pierce, chairman of the Bitcoin Foundation. Some bond purchasers might even receive Salvadoran citizenship, depending on the size of their investment. The initiative was modeled on special economic zones, with Singapore, Dubai, and Shenzhen cited as inspirations. Critics pointed out that of more than 5,000 SEZs established across 70 countries, many have failed to deliver broad economic benefit. For a country with El Salvador's GDP, the gamble was enormous.

Geothermal energy was central to Bukele's pitch. The Conchagua volcano would provide clean, cheap power for the Bitcoin mining rigs that would form the city's economic backbone. Ecologist Ricardo Navarro was skeptical from the start. "Geothermal still costs more than oil, otherwise we would already be using more of it," he told The Telegraph. "What will end up happening is that we will just be buying more oil." The criticism touched a deeper issue: El Salvador already uses geothermal energy for roughly a quarter of its electricity generation, but scaling up to power industrial-grade cryptocurrency mining requires infrastructure investment that the country's finances may not support. And cryptocurrency mining itself is energy-intensive by design -- the computational work that secures the blockchain consumes electricity at rates that have drawn environmental criticism worldwide.

Bitcoin City is not the first planned cryptocurrency paradise, and the track record of its predecessors is not encouraging. Akon City, the Senegalese pop star's planned crypto-powered metropolis, stalled after its 2020 announcement. Cryptoland, pitched as a crypto-themed island community, collapsed into internet mockery. The MS Satoshi, a cruise ship converted into a floating Bitcoin community, never launched. Commentators have described crypto-backed SEZ projects in the Global South as reminiscent of colonialism -- outsiders arriving with capital and technological promises, extracting value while the benefits to local communities remain theoretical. The MIT Technology Review documented how crypto millionaires were pouring money into Central American projects that often served investors far more than residents. Whether Bitcoin City breaks that pattern or extends it remains an open question.

Years after the announcement, Bitcoin City remains largely in the planning stage. Construction delays, financing challenges, and the broader volatility of cryptocurrency markets have slowed progress. Critics have accused the Bukele government of making misleading statements about the project's timeline. Skeptics question whether ordinary Salvadorans -- many of whom have been reluctant to adopt Bitcoin even after it became legal tender in 2021 -- would choose to live in a purpose-built crypto city. Questions also linger about investor protections: if El Salvador were to default on its debt, bondholders might have limited recourse. The city is expected to be served by Bitcoin City Airport, with operations projected to begin in 2027. For now, the base of the Conchagua volcano remains what it has been for centuries -- quiet, green, and volcanic, waiting to see what humans will attempt next.