El Salvador launched a training program for 80,000 public servants to teach them about Bitcoin and prepare them for integration of the digital asset into Salvadoran civic life.
It’s a window into Nayib Bukele’s unstated plan to position El Salvador to go beyond a two-tender society–USD and Bitcoin–and steadily move towards a Bitcoin-only monetary regime.
Bukele’s plan becomes clearer by the day. ONBTC, also known as “The Bitcoin Office”, was not only designed to introduce Bitcoin to the country of approximately 6.3 million, but also “to strengthen the standard of excellence in governance and public administration in El Salvador.”
After all, El Salvador this week received the largest investment in its history this past week. Turkish company Yilport invested $1.6 billion into the country for two ports in Acajutla and La Unión (Bitcoin City), the latter of which never went operational after its 2008 construction.
Additionally, in its 2024 Investment Climate Statement for El Salvador, the The State Department wrote that “recent improvements in the business environment” had improved the country’s strength as an investment destination.
Once Bitcoin is fully integrated into Salvadoran society, including the infrastructure and knowledge, a depreciating USD will become less prevalent in society as Bitcoin’s volatility continues to decrease and the price appreciates due to its supply and demand dynamics.
A New Kind Of Currency Reform
It should be smooth sailing for El Salvador when it comes to implementing what amounts to a Bitcoin Standard. For example, El Salvador’s currency reform is taking place in friendly economic conditions, giving the nation a more favorable environment for fully integrating Bitcoin than is typically the case when countries implement new currencies.
Typically, when government’s undergo currency reform, they’re often limited in terms of macroeconomic policy. They’ve often been forced to undergo the change due to crises, such as hyperinflation, etc. In this respect, El Salvador is well-positioned to reform their tender with flexibility in terms of macroeconomic policies.
And Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous founder of Bitcoin, already did most of the work.
Whereas currency reform alone does not solve ongoing crises, the Bitcoin legal tender law in and of itself combines all of the facets of improving economic conditions. It is itself a new currency, as well as “fiscal and monetary action” to use the IMF’s wording.
The IMF calls the central bank “the arm of the state responsible for introducing new currency” and must develop a detailed plan for distribution of the new currency. In the case of Bitcoin, there was no central bank needed. Bukele introduced the law, and relied on the private sector to build out the initial infrastructure of a public wallet and ATM network.
A New Era In El Salvador
A country might emphasize continuity by using the old name or adding “new” to it. El Salvador’s choice to make Bitcoin legal tender represents the start of a new monetary era. Psychologically, Bitcoin introduces a spirit of innovation and progress into the country, which is having early on a stabilizing effect on the country.
Bukele is pursuing for now an open trade and free market policy, allowing both dollars and bitcoins to circulate side-by-side. Bitcoin’s superior design will ensure it naturally supplants USD. Or, in the event of a dollar crisis, Bukele might demonetize USD within El Salvador’s borders.
Bukele Intends For El Salvador To Become Global Hub
Bitcoiners often call El Salvador “Bitcoin Country,” which is more accurate than most everybody seems to understand.
El Salvador’s certification course for 80,000 employees is a clear step towards fully integrating Bitcoin into Salvadoran society and moving away from the dollar.
The cert programs see to it that the underbanked and receivers of remittances will know how to use Bitcoin and public administrators will know how to integrate it into the public affairs.
The widespread certification of civil servants in Bitcoin will over time improve El Salvador’s economic stability. Government employees can then understand how Bitcoin can be used in public administration. Knowhow in your public administration could simplify the reshaping of public policy and governance in El Salvador, encouraging a culture of innovation within its government agencies.
El Salvador’s early Bitcoin adoption and specialized workforce could make it an attractive partner for investment. The nation will become a hub for Bitcoin, attracting talent from all over the world. Bitcoin training for public administrators could improve El Salvador’s economy, governance, and international reputation.
As more countries consider adopting Bitcoin, El Salvador’s large pool of government employees with specialized knowledge in Bitcoin could make El Salvador an attractive partner for collaboration and investment, and even a global hub in a Bitcoin world.
Read Also: How El Salvador Is Adopting Chivo Wallet To Embrace Bitcoin Economy?
