Home The Cointelegraph Top 100 2023 Nayib Bukele

#69

Nayib Bukele

President of El Salvador

A fitting position for the president of El Salvador

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“Stop looking at the graph and enjoy life. If you invested in BTC, your investment is safe, and its value will immensely grow after the bear market.”

Biography:

Bitcoin maximalist Nayib Bukele took up the presidency of El Salvador in 2019 and entered his fourth and penultimate year in office in 2023. A controversial media personality to some and a visionary leader to others, Bukele succeeded in drawing clicks, investment and attention to the country of 6 million people in 2022. At 41 years old, Bukele is the small Latin American nation’s first Millennial president. A meme connoisseur, Bukele has donned Bitcoin maxi laser-eyes to his Twitter profile and self-styled himself as the “world’s coolest dictator” for a brief spell. He regularly trolls the International Monetary Fund on Twitter, which is his platform of choice for Bitcoin-related announcements and resharing memes.

Bukele has been publicly involved in Bitcoin since 2017, when he tweeted, “Well, yes, we will use Bitcoin” — foreshadowing the events of four years later. In 2021, El Salvador became the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender, a move that cemented El Salvador’s position on the Bitcoin world map. Two years later, the country has amassed thousands of Bitcoin tourist visits, Bitcoin conferences and Bitcoin-related investments, although BTC payments are comparatively less popular.

Bukele’s 2022:

Bukele had a rocky 2022. With the price per Bitcoin crashing to the low teens, Bukele was lambasted in mainstream media, while he failed to deliver on promises made in 2021. The construction of Bitcoin City — a tax-free, volcano-powered city — was pushed back to 2023. The city hinged on the creation of Volcano Bonds, which were finally ratified by the government in January 2023. The hotly anticipated Volcano Bonds are expected to pay down sovereign debt and expand Bitcoin mining infrastructure.

In the spring, the rating agency Fitch downgraded the country from B- to CCC due to its Bitcoin adoption and “policy unpredictability.” The IMF advised El Salvador to revoke the status of Bitcoin as legal tender due to volatility as well as its supposed use in criminal activities. In the summer, El Salvador announced that tourism figures had increased by more than 80% in the first half of the year, with 1.1 million visitors flocking to the country. In the fall, Bukele announced a reelection bid, although Salvadoran law currently prohibits the reelection of presidents. Bukele is down roughly $40 million on his country’s Bitcoin purchases, with the country hodling over 2,400 BTC. However, Bukele announced a dollar-cost-averaging strategy in November, buying 1 BTC every day until further notice.

Bukele’s 2023:

As the bear market grinds on, El Salvador continues to buy 1 BTC per day. Bukele will also pursue his quest to overturn the political legislature, which currently prohibits him from standing for reelection in 2024. As the self-declared epicenter of Bitcoin adoption, El Salvador will roll out Volcano Bonds in 2023, paving the way for Bitcoin City in the southeast of the country. Bukele tweeted that tourists can now remain in the country for a maximum of 180 days without a visa. Alongside Bitcoin conferences, the World Surf League tour returns for a second year, and Bukele will host the Miss Universe contest in El Salvador for the first time since 1975.

Construction is expected to begin on a new international airport, which will help accommodate rising tourist numbers, while other major infrastructure projects will also break ground in 2023. A high-speed railway will connect El Salvador’s capital city of San Salvador to the less-developed eastern area of the country, including Bitcoin City and neighboring countries. Despite enduring criticism, Bukele still has time to make a splash in 2023, buoyed by the support of Bitcoin believers around the world.