CBI Programs That Accept Bitcoin: The Complete Global List

The phrase "accepts Bitcoin" covers a wide spectrum across active Citizenship by Investment (CBI) programs. At one end, the sovereign contribution settles on-chain into a government-controlled receiving address. At the other end, an agent runs the BTC through a third-party processor at the applicant’s expense and forwards fiat to the treasury. The two are not the same offer, and the language in the marketing copy does not always distinguish them.

The citizenship by investment industry has the same split. Some programs are genuinely Bitcoin-native; the government treats BTC as the payment rail and holds or spends it at the sovereign level. Some programs let you pay in Bitcoin through a licensed agent’s workflow, with the conversion happening behind the scenes. Some programs will quietly accept Bitcoin if you push for it, but the government receives dollars, euros, or local currency through a traditional banking channel. And some programs do not accept Bitcoin at all.

For Bitcoiners making a six- or seven-figure sovereignty move, the distinction is not cosmetic. It determines which due diligence you face, how your source of funds is verified, what the settlement currency is, and whether the program is structurally aligned with the asset class you built your stack on.

Here is the complete global list, broken down by what "accepts Bitcoin" actually means in practice.

Three Tiers Of Bitcoin Acceptance

Before the program-by-program breakdown, the framework:

01 / Bitcoin-native. The government itself designed the program around cryptocurrency. Contributions are denominated in BTC or USDT. No fiat option. The sovereign entity holds or deploys the digital asset directly through its own infrastructure. One program fits this tier.

02 / Bitcoin-payable through licensed agents. The program’s government contribution is denominated in fiat, but a licensed agent or partner law firm may accept BTC, USDT, or Lightning and handle the conversion into the currency the government settles in. The conversion must be transparent and disclosed. This is a market category, not a statement that 21 CBI currently productizes every jurisdiction in it.

03 / Professional fee in Bitcoin, government fee in fiat. BTC, Lightning, and USDT are 21 CBI’s payment rails, with cards and bank transfers accepted as needed. For bespoke jurisdictions, the engagement letter must also state the government rail, any conversion role, and the responsible local party.

Everything else is a "call us and we will see" situation: convert to USD on an exchange, wire fiat into escrow, absorb the markup. That is not Bitcoin acceptance. That is Bitcoin tolerance.

El Salvador: The Only Fully Bitcoin-native CBI

El Salvador’s Freedom Passport is the only citizenship by investment program on Earth that accepts Bitcoin as a sovereign settlement asset. The $1,000,000 government contribution is paid exclusively in BTC or USDT. No fiat accepted. The contribution moves from your wallet to a designated government wallet, coordinated by The Bitcoin Office. 21 CBI is a licensed agent of The Bitcoin Office, authorized to process applications.

Launched December 7, 2023 under the "Adopting El Salvador" initiative and capped at 1,000 participants per year. Processing takes 6 to 8 weeks. The passport grants visa-free access to 132 destinations including the entire Schengen Area, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and Hong Kong. El Salvador is also outside the Common Reporting Standard (CRS), meaning financial account information is not automatically exchanged with foreign tax authorities through CRS channels.

For Bitcoiners, this is not a program that accepts Bitcoin. This is a program built for Bitcoin holders, by a government that holds Bitcoin on its own balance sheet.

Vanuatu: Bitcoin-payable Through 21 CBI

Vanuatu’s Development Support Program (DSP) is the fastest CBI globally at 30 to 60 days from engagement to passport. The government fee is $130,000 for a single applicant, denominated in USD and settled through 21 CBI’s licensed partner law firm. The 21 CBI advisory fee is $6,500 (a flat 5% of the government fee), payable in Bitcoin on-chain, Lightning, or USDT.

The licensed partner accepts BTC and handles the conversion to the currency the Vanuatu Citizenship Commission (VCC) settles in. You transact on-chain. The government receives fiat. The conversion rate is disclosed at the time of payment, and the exchange route is through a regulated counterparty. No exchange-markup surprises, no off-ramp friction on your end.

Vanuatu participates in the OECD CRS, meaning financial account information is exchanged with your country of tax residence. That is a factual differentiator; it is not a program weakness. We walk through CRS implications during every Vanuatu strategy call.

São Tomé & Príncipe: Bitcoin-payable And Non-crs

São Tomé & Príncipe (STP) is the most affordable CBI globally: $90,000 government fee for a single applicant, processed through the Unidade de Cidadania por Investimento e Doação (UCID) headquartered in Dubai. Processing runs approximately 6 to 8 weeks. The program launched under Decreto-Lei n.º 07/2025. 21 CBI no longer productizes STP or publishes a standing professional fee.

Historically, STP used an agent-converts-to-fiat model. A current 21 CBI bespoke engagement must re-verify the receiving party, conversion terms, custody role, and UCID instructions before funds move. This article is not a current payment instruction.

The structural differentiator for STP is that it is a Non-CRS jurisdiction. For Bitcoiners who built a stack specifically to escape the automatic exchange regime, STP combines Bitcoin-payable settlement with a passport whose host country does not auto-report financial accounts through CRS channels.

Türkiye: Advisory In Bitcoin, Real Estate In Fiat

Türkiye’s CBI requires a $400,000 minimum real estate investment held for three years. The real estate portion is denominated in Turkish lira or US dollars, transacted through regulated property conveyancing channels, and verified by the General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre. 21 CBI no longer productizes Türkiye or publishes a standing professional fee.

What this means practically: you cannot assume a Turkish developer will accept Bitcoin. Any 21 CBI role in payment, source-of-funds work, or licensed-counsel coordination is bespoke and defined after the paid Sovereignty Strategy Session. Turkish citizens have access to the E-2 treaty visa pathway to the United States, which is why Türkiye remains relevant despite the fiat real-estate requirement.

The Caribbean: Still Fiat-first

Every Caribbean CBI program (St. Kitts & Nevis, Antigua & Barbuda, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Dominica) operates on a fiat-first model. Some agents advertise "Bitcoin accepted" workflows, but the structure is consistent: the agent accepts Bitcoin into a private wallet or corporate exchange account, converts to USD, then wires the USD into a government-designated escrow account at a correspondent bank.

From your side, this looks like paying in Bitcoin. From the government’s side, it is a USD wire. The conversion adds exchange-rate risk, potential markup, and a counterparty layer between your stack and the sovereign entity. Not inherently bad; just not what Bitcoiners typically mean when they ask whether a program accepts Bitcoin.

What To Ask Before You Engage Any Program

If you are evaluating a CBI program and the agent says they accept Bitcoin, ask these five questions:

01 / Who receives the Bitcoin? If the answer is "the agent’s wallet," that is Tier 2 or Tier 3. Only El Salvador has the government receiving BTC directly.

02 / What currency does the government settle in? Follow the settlement currency, not the payment currency. That is where the program’s structural alignment with Bitcoin lives or dies.

03 / Is the conversion rate disclosed at time of payment? If yes, the workflow is professional. If no, you are absorbing spread and exchange-rate risk that should be the agent’s to bear.

04 / Is the professional fee payable in BTC, Lightning, or USDT? Those are 21 CBI’s primary rails. A bespoke engagement still needs written scope for the government payment and any conversion.

05 / Is there a separate banking channel for government contributions? For every program except El Salvador, the answer is yes. Knowing the banking counterparty matters for source-of-funds documentation and compliance posture.

The Principle

"Accepts Bitcoin" is a spectrum, not a checkbox. El Salvador is the only program where the sovereign itself holds BTC on its balance sheet and receives BTC contributions at the government level. Vanuatu’s whole file settles in BTC, Lightning, or USDT through BitSettle after compliance clearance. São Tomé and Türkiye are bespoke jurisdictions for 21 CBI; their current settlement paths must be verified and written into the engagement scope.

None of these tiers is wrong. They are different architectures for different goals. El Salvador and Vanuatu are the two productized 21 CBI programs. If São Tomé’s cost and Non-CRS posture or Türkiye’s E-2 access matters, that analysis is bespoke and carries no assumed fixed fee.

The programs you want to avoid are the ones that cannot answer the five questions above clearly. If the agent cannot explain their settlement currency, their conversion rate, or where the Bitcoin actually goes, that is not a Bitcoin-friendly program. That is a program that learned to say "yes" when a Bitcoiner asks. Your stack deserves better.

To determine which tier fits your situation, start with the paid Sovereignty Strategy Session. No obligation to proceed beyond the session.

One more resource before you decide: the Bitcoin Passport Index, the first passport ranking built for Bitcoiners, scores 87 jurisdictions on the factors that actually matter to a Bitcoin holder, with Bitcoin policy and tax treatment weighted at 45% alongside mobility and privacy. The full inaugural 2026 ranking and methodology are at the Bitcoin Passport Index.

Adam Juchniewicz, CEO US Air Force veteran. Bitcoiner since 2020. Licensed agent of The Bitcoin Office of El Salvador.