El Salvador's First Blockchain-Funded Hotel Comes to Life Through Bitfinex's Tokenized Debt

By: Isha Das

The construction of a new Hampton by Hilton hotel at El Salvador International Airport will be funded via tokenized debt, marking a significant advance in blockchain-based finance for the Central American nation. This initiative is led by Bitfinex Securities, which seeks to raise $6.25 million. The short-term debt carries a 10% coupon over a five-year period with a minimum investment of $1000.

The new hotel will be a 4,484-square-meter facility boasting 80 rooms, five commercial spaces, and numerous amenities spread across five levels. Its financing arrangements represent the country's first venture into the realm of tokenized debt. Bitfinex Securities has teamed up with Inversiones Laguardia, an established El Salvador entity, while Ditobanx undertakes the task of tokenizing and structuring the transaction. It will be issued on the Liquid blockchain, a Bitcoin layer-2 solution. The token, known as the HILSV token, will trade under two trading pairs, the fiat US Dollar and Tether’s USDT stablecoin, exclusively on the Bitfinex Securities platform.

This maiden venture into digital asset tokenization from El Salvador paves the way for growth in the young capital market and introduces a significant new asset class. The role of Hilton in this arrangement is strictly that of a franchisor and does not involve any direct involvement. The project is expected to generate almost 1,000 jobs during its construction phase and up to 5,000 direct and indirect jobs during operations.