In a recent disclosure, the Litecoin Foundation has shed light on its past interactions with El Salvador's state-owned utility company, Comisión Ejecutiva del Rio Lempa (CEL), revealing a narrative of missed opportunities and unfulfilled commitments.
In October 2021, the CEL reached out to Charlie Lee with a letter expressing interest in collaboration. By November, discussions were underway regarding how Litecoin could assist with El Salvador's cryptocurrency initiatives. From January to June 2022, there were several meetings where advice was provided, with Litecoin requesting a modest advisory fee and the inclusion of their mining rigs alongside Bitcoin's. However, come June/July 2022, communication from CEL ceased, and El Salvador pivoted to focus exclusively on Bitcoin, effectively excluding Litecoin from further involvement.
Then came the radio silence as communication from CEL ceased, and the narrative shifted towards making El Salvador a "Bitcoin only" country, with no further involvement from the Litecoin Foundation. This sudden change coincided with the ramping up of Bitcoin-centric initiatives in the country, sidelining other cryptocurrencies like Litecoin.
Here is the full text of the memo sent by CEL:
"Dear Charlie Lee
We hope this letter finds you well. The Comisión Ejecutiva del Rio Lempa, CEL, is the country s national utilities company that supplies, directly or through its subsidiaries, more than 50% of El Salvador s energy consumption. This is done primarily through renewable sources such as geothermal and hydroelectric energy. As you may know El Salvador has recently adopted bitcoin as legal tender and blockchain technology to drive financial inclusion in our country. As part of these efforts CEL is planning how to implement blockchain based applications to power development, in fact it has taken the first steps to use blockchain technology for generating access to funds whilst utilizing green energy in the process. Just a few weeks ago, we began cryptocurrency mining in one of our geothermal plants.
CEL has played a fundamental role in establishing the future of our energy policy that encompasses the need to use energy as a driver of development as well as vehicle to decarbonize our economic activity. Bringing electricity to those who don t have it and building a system where the sustainable cost of electricity is a key goal. An ambitious agenda is being set and one that we are looking to capitalize on the benefits of blockchain applications to help leverage these efforts.
We may have limited knowledge on all the work and initiatives that you undertake but we are clear that your expertise in blockchain applications is exceptional, especially in the developing and promotion of blockchain technologies. We are impressed by the importance Litecoin has attained throughout the years and how relevant it is for the community that it has already processed one hundred billion dollars worth of transactions.
The fact that, in over ten years, Litecoin has never gone down remarks us about its security and reliability; making it possible for thousands of businesses and people to trade with the currency without further hassles and cheaper fees. It is important to acknowledge the strong, trustworthy ecosystem you've help create, with more than 3,000 merchants where users can spend their Litecoin.
We recognize your crucial work at Coinbase and the Litecoin Foundation which involved you directly in the shaping of the blockchain's future and its applications. For us, this experience is invaluable as we enter this groundbreaking world as CEL.
We believe there are many areas in which we could collaborate in the near future. CEL's interest is to determine whether we can build a partnership that would allow us to create an ecosystem that would support our objectives of energy, social and economic development. As you can imagine this a priority for our administration and our sense of urgency is important.
If you do agree on the potential going forward, we propose a meeting to discuss how we may be able to collaborate and what this partnership may look like as soon as possible. I have asked Gustavo Cuellar, copied on this letter to please help facilitate this. We appreciate your prompt attention
All the best Daniel Alejandro Alvarez President of CEL HIDROELECTRIC"
The Litecoin Foundation highlighted that while Litecoin and Bitcoin could complement each other, certain factions within the Bitcoin community push for a more monopolistic approach rather than supporting a diverse, free-market environment for cryptocurrencies. This, they argue, goes against the decentralized ethos that cryptocurrencies are meant to embody.
