Bitcoin (BTC) and El Salvador will most likely not part ways for a while. If Nayib Bukele, the former president and also a major Bitcoin proponent, wins Sunday’s elections, the Salvadoran government will move forward with its Bitcoin plans. Good news for Bitcoin fanatics: There is a good chance that Bukele will be back at the helm of the Central American country come June.
Bitcoin Plan El Salvador
El Salvador made history in 2021 by becoming the first country in the world to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender. Bukele, who took office as the country’s president on June 1, 2019, advocated the adoption of what was then the world’s largest cryptocurrency.
At the beginning of December, Bukele abdicated the throne to concentrate fully on his re-election campaign. Acting President Claudia Rodríguez de Guevara took over (temporarily).
With just four days until the opening of the elections, Bukele’s Vice President Felix Ulloa has reassured Bitcoin fans. According to Reuters, he stated last Wednesday that Bitcoin would remain legal tender during Bukele’s second term.
This statement comes after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) previously asked El Salvador to reconsider the measure during negotiations over a billion-dollar loan.
Ulloa also noted that the recent launch of Spot Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for Bitcoin on US exchanges has only strengthened their resolve.
BTC proponents have great opportunities
Victory seems almost certain for Bukele. A January study by the Central American University (UCA) gives Bukele 82 percent of voter intent – 78 percentage points more than his nearest competitor.
Bukele has gained popularity for his aggressive crackdown on gang violence, which has long been inextricably linked to El Salvador.
Bukele is focusing his re-election campaign on his wildly popular security policies, which the president says have transformed El Salvador from the “murder capital of the world” to the “safest country in Latin America.”