El Salvador marks 4th anniversary of Bitcoin adoption… sustainability in question

The South American country El Salvador, which adopted Bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender, marked four years of Bitcoin accumulation.

On the 7th (local time), President Nayib Bukele posted on X (formerly Twitter), "To celebrate Bitcoin Day, we purchased 21 additional Bitcoins."

El Salvador has been steadily accumulating Bitcoin since adopting it as legal tender in September 2021.

On that day, El Salvador's Bitcoin Office also released an outline of its Bitcoin strategy over the past four years. According to the Bitcoin Office, El Salvador's Bitcoin holdings currently total 6313. Also, with the implementation of the new banking law, Bitcoin investment banks can provide services to institutional investors, and 80,000 public officials have obtained Bitcoin-related certification. In addition, AI and Bitcoin education programs are also being operated.

However, despite the national-level Bitcoin strategies, questions remain about their sustainability because the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has made a reduction of Bitcoin-related strategies a condition for rescue financing. Specifically, under a US$1.4 billion loan agreement with the IMF, El Salvador agreed to repeal the Bitcoin legal tender law and not to make additional Bitcoin purchases with public funds. Accordingly, support for the Chivo e-wallet, which was run by the government, has also been reduced. The IMF also stated in a July report, "The government of El Salvador halted new Bitcoin purchases after the December loan agreement last year."