The Colombian President Gustavo Petro is now a Bitcoin owner. He did not buy cryptocurrency, however. Samson Mow gave Colombia's president 100,000 sats, which is the smallest unit in the Bitcoin currency. He then shared the news via Twitter and revealed that Petro was "now a #Bitcoin HOLDER for sure."
It's a nice gift, but not very impressive, since it is the equivalent of 40 dollars. Still, it's a nifty PR stunt for Mow, a former chief strategy officer of Blockstream and currently the CEO of JAN3, a tech company focused on expanding access to Bitcoin, with a declared mission "to accelerate hyperbitcoinization."
Satoshis were exchanged during the meeting between President Mow and a delegation headed by Mow. The Chinese-Canadian cryptoentrepreneur has been actively advocating Bitcoin adoption in Latin America for several years. (JAN3 registered Prospera ZEDE, a private island and special economic zone in Roatan, Honduras).
He was a advisor to Nayib Bukele, the President of El Salvador. First, when the country adopted Bitcoin. The collaboration then evolved into the Bitcoin City project. Mow revealed recently that he plans to meet the newly-elected president of Argentina Javier Milei. Milei is a Bitcoin enthusiast, and self-described as anarcho-capitalist.
He stopped in Columbia on his way to the south where prospects of developing the Bitcoin-based economy are bright. Petro, during the meeting with the Colombian delegation, announced plans to create working groups within the Colombian public administration as well as work cooperatives in order to promote and support the growth of the crypto economy.
Petro, who will take the position in 2022 has already expressed his interest in crypto, elaborating the "strength of Bitcoin" on social media. He said that cryptocurrency could be used to take back power from governments and banks. He also took the topic to a metaphysical level, stating that "virtual money is pure energy and information."