Bukele’s Journey: From Mayor to Bitcoin Advocate in El Salvador
El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele marked the one-year anniversary of making bitcoin legal tender. Key developments include:
- The country moved its strategic bitcoin reserve to cold storage, holding over $500 million in BTC.
- Bukele initiated bitcoin purchases during both market downturns and upturns, currently owning 6,114 BTC.
- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) urged El Salvador to drop bitcoin as legal tender, halting loan talks.
- Despite IMF pressure, El Salvador repaid an $800 million bond, leading to a credit rating upgrade from Fitch.
- There are ongoing negotiations regarding a $1.4 billion loan with the IMF, which may require reverting the bitcoin law.
El Salvador’s experiment has led to increased adoption and sparked discussions around sovereign debt and cryptocurrency's role in economies.