According to U.Today, Nayib Bukele has begun his second term as President of El Salvador, furthering his government's groundbreaking efforts in cryptocurrency adoption. Since September 2021, Bitcoin has been recognized as the official legal tender in the South American nation. In his first term, Bukele reaffirmed his commitment to buying one Bitcoin daily into a cold wallet until it can no longer be technically obtained.
Max Keiser, a prominent Bitcoin supporter and advisor to the President, has proposed an ambitious plan for El Salvador during Bukele's second term. Keiser believes that the country's wealth will increasingly be controlled by its citizens through decentralized Bitcoin nodes. In this model, the President will propose initiatives that the public can fund through crowd-sourcing, effectively reinventing the social contract and operating the nation on a circular Bitcoin-focused economy.
Keiser also envisions El Salvador becoming debt-free and utilizing its geothermal and volcanic energy to power Bitcoin mining, with the goal of controlling 10% of the global hash rate. The country has already made significant strides in this direction, using geothermal energy from the Tecapa volcano to mine 473.5 Bitcoin, valued at approximately $29 million. Of the 102 MW produced by the country's power plants, 1.5 MW is allocated to Bitcoin mining.
According to data from Arkham, El Salvador currently holds 5,718 Bitcoin, valued at roughly $400.26 million. Keiser believes this innovative approach will diminish the influence of central banks and render international financial institutions like the IMF irrelevant in the country's economic policies.