The actress and model donned an outfit that feature bitcoin cryptocurrency as she strutted onto the stage at a beauty pageant.
Guajardo, the Salvadoran beauty queen was seen in a bitcoin-inspired gold bodysuit, a glittering tribute to her country becoming the world's first to adopt the cryptocurrency as legal tender two years ago.
In her Instagram post, the Miss Universe wrote her homeland as "a country with a true vision of positive change for the future" while pointing to the government's much-criticized decision to adopt bitcoin as legal currency in 2021 alongside the US dollar.
Her blingy dress is designed by Francisco Guerrero. Guajardo wore this dress during the 71st Miss Universe National Costume Show at the Ernst N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, US.
The currency-themed outfit includes a staff topped with a golden bitcoin and a huge colon coin strapped to her back ringed by cacao beans.
The colon was the local currency for about a century ending in 2021 when the US dollar was adopted; in ancient times cacao was used as money across mesoamerica.
Recently, El Salvador's legislative assembly approved a digital assets law aimed at legally protecting transfers or debt issues with cryptocurrencies.
El Salvador was the first country to adopt bitcoin as a legal currency in September 2021, using it along with the US dollar, which it adopted as its currency in 2001.
The new law paves the way for the acquisition of $1 billion in "crypto bonds" or "volcano bonds."
Bitcoin surged over $21,000 on Saturday amid optimism that it may have bottomed and inflation has peaked.
The largest cryptocurrency rose as much as 7.5% to $21,299, before paring gains as the day progressed. It hadn’t been above $20,000 since 8 November 2022.
Second-largest token Ether surged as much as 9.7%, and others such as Cardano and Dogecoin also notched gains. Solana soared as much as 35%.
The overall market cap of the crypto universe rose above $1 trillion for the first time since early November, according to data from CoinGecko.
