The nation's strength to speculate on Bitcoin, El Salvador's path to cryptocurrency

El Salvador's President is Making Money

On February 29, 2024, El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele tweeted that with the rise in Bitcoin prices, El Salvador's Bitcoin holdings have made a profit of over 40%. Bukele also stated that El Salvador has no plans to sell its Bitcoin.

It is reported that El Salvador's average holding cost is $44,292, with a total of 2,381 Bitcoins held in its treasury.

A few days earlier, on February 25, 2024, Bitcoin-supporting Nayib Bukele was successfully re-elected as President of El Salvador with an 87% vote rate. Furthermore, back in 2021, President Nayib Bukele promoted Bitcoin to be recognized as legal tender in El Salvador.

Additionally, El Salvador's Vice President Felix Ulloa stated that during President Nayib Bukele's second term, Bitcoin will continue to be El Salvador's legal tender. He doubled down on supporting Central American countries adopting cryptocurrency as legal tender.

Moreover, on December 8 of last year, El Salvador launched a new "Investment for Citizenship" program, offering residency visas and a pathway to citizenship for 1,000 individuals willing to invest $1 million in BTC or USDT in the country. Tether provided technical support for El Salvador's free visa program. The process requires a non-refundable deposit of $999 in Bitcoin or USDT. If all spots are filled, it will raise $1 billion for El Salvador.

El Salvador's enthusiasm for cryptocurrency is undoubtedly supported by Nayib Bukele. Who exactly is he?

The Life of the Bitcoin President

Nayib Bukele is the current President of El Salvador, having taken office on June 1, 2019. He is the first president in the history of El Salvador not to belong to the two major parties (FMLN and ARENA).

He was previously the mayor of Nuevo Cuscatlán and San Salvador, as well as the founder of the Nuevas Ideas (New Ideas) party. He won the presidential election in 2019 with 53% of the vote, breaking the monopoly of traditional political forces.

Bukele was born on July 24, 1981, to a businessman father. He studied law at Central American University but did not graduate. He started his own advertising company at the age of 20 and later expanded into other fields such as telecommunications and media. He is also an avid football fan and has served as the vice president of the Salvadoran Football Federation.

Bukele's political career began in 2012 when he ran for mayor of Nuevo Cuscatlán as a candidate for the FMLN (Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front) party and won with 49% of the vote. During his term, he implemented a series of social and infrastructure projects that improved the quality of life and safety for citizens. In 2015, he ran for mayor of San Salvador under the same party and easily won the leadership of the largest and most important city in El Salvador with 89% of the vote.

Bukele's campaign slogan was "Nuevas Ideas, Nueva Generación" (New Ideas, New Generation), and he promised to break the corruption and injustice in El Salvador, improve economic and social conditions, reduce violence and immigration, and enhance cooperation with the international community. He defeated opponents from the FMLN and ARENA parties with an absolute majority, becoming the youngest president in El Salvador's history.

After taking office, Bukele launched a series of policies and plans aimed at fulfilling his campaign promises.

The Evangelist of Bitcoin

One of Bukele's significant initiatives was the official implementation of the Bitcoin Law on September 7, 2021, making El Salvador the first country in the world to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender.

Bukele believes that this move will help promote financial inclusion, reduce remittance costs, attract foreign investment, create jobs, and increase economic growth.

His government established a digital wallet called Chivo, giving every citizen using the wallet $30 in Bitcoin and setting up over 200 free Bitcoin ATMs nationwide. His government has also gradually purchased Bitcoin from international markets and plans to use it as a strategic reserve for the country.

Bukele's Bitcoin Law has received mixed reactions both domestically and internationally; some praise it as an innovative and forward-looking initiative, while others criticize it as a risky and irresponsible move.

Some international institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB), have expressed concerns about El Salvador's Bitcoin Law, believing it may pose legal, financial, and macroeconomic risks and challenges.

In addition to the Bitcoin Law, the El Salvador Ministry of Education has partnered with the non-profit organization Mi Primer Bitcoin/My First Bitcoin (MPB/MFB) to incorporate Bitcoin (BTC) education into public school curricula by 2024.

It can be said that My First Bitcoin is a Bitcoin education project in El Salvador, claiming to have educated over 10,000 students in 2022, with plans to expand its scale 25 times in 2023 and educate over 250,000 students. The group has conducted relevant lectures in many countries, high schools, and vocational schools, and awarded Bitcoin course certificates to students who pass the tests.

Previously, El Salvador's ambassador to the United States, Milena Mayorga, stated on Twitter that she held a meeting with other representatives from El Salvador and Texas Deputy Secretary of State Joe Esparza to discuss the opening of a second Bitcoin embassy and the expansion of business and economic exchange programs.

In Conclusion

This article introduces the life and achievements of El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele, particularly his innovation and leadership in promoting Bitcoin as legal tender.

We began with Bukele's announcement on Twitter about El Salvador's profitable Bitcoin holdings, reviewed his victory in the 2024 re-election, and discussed the content and impact of the Bitcoin Law he passed in 2021. Additionally, El Salvador has made some initiatives and achievements in Bitcoin education and diplomacy.

It can be said that Bukele is a president who dares to reform and innovate, and we believe he can bring more opportunities and development to El Salvador through Bitcoin.