In this interview, I talk to El Salvador President Nayib Bukele. We discuss the decision to make bitcoin legal tender, education & infrastructure, volcano mining, and why he believes bitcoin is a ‘no-brainer’.

SHOW NOTES:
https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/podcast/why-el-salvador-made-bitcoin-legal-tender

THIS EPISODE’S SPONSORS:
Gemini – https://www.gemini.com/
BlockFi – https://blockfi.com/?ref=f0fdce00
Sportsbet.io – https://sportsbet.io/?ref=wbd
Casa – https://keys.casa/?pk_campaign=wbd-yearly-sponsor &pk_medium=sponsorship &pk_source=what-bitcoin-did
Exodus – https://www.exodus.io/
Ledger – https://www.ledger.com/
Revolut – https://www.revolut.com/wbd

TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 Introduction
00:00:16 – Why did President Bukele decide to do this?
00:07:09 – What are the risks of making Bitcoin legal tender?
00:09:10 – The pressures of being a President
00:17:23 – Can this law be stopped?
00:23:52 – How will this fit into President Bukele’s legacy?
00:27:12 – The Presidential term
00:30:10 – President Bukele’s understanding of Bitcoin
00:32:57 – Why classical economists dislike Bitcoin
00:34:18 – The World Bank announcement
00:37:30 – Meetings with the IMF
00:39:23 – The 90 day rollout strategy
00:40:13 – Article 7 requirements
00:46:55 – Any plans to hold Bitcoin in the reserves?
00:50:03 – Government wallets
00:53:52 – Altcoins
00:55:47 – When is this starting?
00:56:12 – Investing Bitcoin for permanent residency
00:58:32 – Favourable tax codes
00:59:26 – Mining with geothermal energy

WHERE TO FIND THE SHOW:
→ My website: https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/podcast/
→ iTunes: https://apple.co/2OOlzVV
→ Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2ygc4W1
→ Stitcher: https://bit.ly/2IQO8fX
→ SoundCloud: https://bit.ly/2CGSVQR
→ YouTube: https://bit.ly/3nyi9Ez
→ TuneIn: https://bit.ly/2ywystr

LISTEN TO OLD EPISODES:
→ By guest: https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/guests/
→ By topic: https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/topics/
→ Transcriptions: https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/transcriptions/

SUPPORT THE SHOW:
→ https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/sponsorship/
→ Become a Patron: https://www.patreon.com/whatbitcoindid/
→ Subscribe on iTunes
→ Leave a review on iTunes
→ Share the show out with your friends and family on social media
→ Drop me a line on hello@whatbitcoindid.com

WHERE TO FOLLOW ME:
→ Twitter: https://twitter.com/whatbitcoindid/
→ Medium: https://medium.com/@whatbitcoindid/
→ Instagram: http://instagram.com/whatbitcoindid/
→ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whatbitcoindid/
→ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/whatbitcoindidpodcast
→ Website: https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/
→ Email list: https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/subscribe/

LEARN ABOUT BITCOIN:
→ Step by Step Guide: https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/beginners-guide
→ Training: https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/training/
→ Resources: https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/resources/

****

“This is just exercising our sovereign right to adopt legal tenders, like we adopted the US dollar in the year 2001…the only difference probably is the reasons why we are doing this; in 2001, it was probably done for the benefit of the banks, and this decision is done for the benefit of the people.”
— Nayib Bukele

Location: El Salvador
Date: Friday 18th June
Project: El Salvador
Role: President

Twenty years ago, El Salvador became a dollarised nation, bringing economic stability to the country and improving the country’s potential for investment. However, it did so at the cost of giving up its monetary policy to the US Federal bank.

Two decades later, following the COVID-19, the global economic outlook has changed significantly. As a result, the Fed has taken extreme measures to combat the economic impact of the pandemic and is printing money at previously unseen levels.

The stimulus packages that help American’s do not make their way to dollarised El Salvador, but the people of Salvadorans do suffer the adverse effects of the US debasing the dollar.

Two years ago, Nayib Bukele won a landslide presidential election in El Salvador, becoming the first President since the Salvadoran Civil War who did not represent either of the two major parties.

As the founder of the political party Nuevas Ideas, President Bukele lived up to his reputation when on the 8th of June 2021, El Salvador enacted its Bitcoin Law, making it the first country to adopt bitcoin as a legal tender. The decision has been met with excitement and scepticism.

Could this bold move be a catalyst for prosperity in El Salvador? And will other nations follow suit, potentially helping billions?

In his first interview since the Bitcoin law was passed, I talked to El Salvador President Nayib Bukele. We discuss the decision to make bitcoin legal tender, education & infrastructure, volcano mining, and why he believes bitcoin is a ‘no-brainer’.

MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor SAVAGE MOMENT – Bitcoin Conference
Powered by Marathon Digital Holdings
#bitcoin #bitcoinmagazine #michaelsaylor #bitcoin2022

Use promocode FOMO for 10% off everything in our store!
https://store.bitcoinmagazine.com/

SHOW NOTES:
https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/podcast/bitcoin-in-el-salvador-part-2

The full interview with President Nayib Bukele, undertaken days after the Bitcoin Law became effective on September 7th 2021, sections of which were included in my film “Follow The Money #1 – Bitcoin in El Salvador”. In this interview, we discuss motivation, opposition and legacy.

THIS EPISODE’S SPONSORS:
Gemini – https://www.gemini.com/
BlockFi – https://blockfi.com/peter
Sportsbet.io – https://sportsbet.io/?ref=wbd
Casa – https://keys.casa/?pk_campaign=wbd-yearly-sponsor &pk_medium=sponsorship &pk_source=what-bitcoin-did
Ledger – https://www.ledger.com/
Compass Mining – https://compassmining.io/
BCB Group – https://hubs.ly/Q011cb730
LVL – https://www.lvl.co/wbd

TIMESTAMPS:
00:00:00 Days after the launch
00:09:38 Observers wanting El Salvador to fail
00:22:20 El Salvador buying Bitcoin; Bukele’s gamble?
00:26:35 Internal opposition to the Bitcoin Law
00:35:38 Bukele’s legacy
00:45:58 Article 7 of the Bitcoin Law
00:50:13 Changing the constitution; removing judges – dictatorial leanings?
01:04:28 Gender equality in El Salvador
01:09:42 A last word about Bitcoin’s importance

WHERE TO FIND THE SHOW:
→ My website: https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/podcast/
→ iTunes: https://apple.co/2OOlzVV
→ Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2ygc4W1
→ Stitcher: https://bit.ly/2IQO8fX
→ SoundCloud: https://bit.ly/2CGSVQR
→ YouTube: https://bit.ly/3nyi9Ez
→ TuneIn: https://bit.ly/2ywystr

LISTEN TO OLD EPISODES:
→ By guest: https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/guests/
→ By topic: https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/topics/
→ Transcriptions: https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/transcriptions/

SUPPORT THE SHOW:
→ https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/sponsorship/
→ Become a Patron: https://www.patreon.com/whatbitcoindid/
→ Subscribe on iTunes
→ Leave a review on iTunes
→ Share the show out with your friends and family on social media
→ Drop me a line on hello@whatbitcoindid.com

WHERE TO FOLLOW ME:
→ Twitter: https://twitter.com/whatbitcoindid/
→ Medium: https://medium.com/@whatbitcoindid/
→ Instagram: http://instagram.com/whatbitcoindid/
→ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whatbitcoindid/
→ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/whatbitcoindidpodcast
→ Website: https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/
→ Email list: https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/subscribe/

LEARN ABOUT BITCOIN:
→ Step by Step Guide: https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/beginners-guide
→ Training: https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/training/
→ Resources: https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/resources/

#Bitcoin #Finance #Economics

****

“I don’t think it’s going to work, I’m sure it’s going to work. Because the fundamentals are there. We can have some bumps in the road like everything… but, the fundamentals are the same. And it’s going to work because the philosophy of it is right. Just give it time. It’s going to work for El Salvador, it’s going to work for Bitcoin, it’s going to work for the world.”
— Nayib Bukele

The full interview with President Nayib Bukele, undertaken days after the Bitcoin Law became effective on September 7th 2021, sections of which were included in my film “Follow The Money #1 – Bitcoin in El Salvador”. In this interview, we discuss motivation, opposition and legacy.

– – – –

A few days following Bitcoin being given legal status, I was granted an exclusive access interview with President Bukele for the purposes of my film “Follow The Money #1 – Bitcoin in El Salvador”. Following the release of the film, it is time to publish the full interview.

It has been over 8 months since El Salvador became the first country in the world to make Bitcoin legal tender. A lot has been written about El Salvador’s Bitcoin Law, and a lot has happened since. But what was it like to be at the centre of this unprecedented event? An event that could change not just El Salvador’s future, but also Bitcoin’s and the rest of the world.

The discussion covers President Bukele’s enthusiasm for what Bitcoin can do for his country and his people; the incredible timescale within which the law was passed (it was a mere 3 months from being enacted to becoming law); the strategy behind the country’s purchases of Bitcoin; internal and external opposition; and the plan behind the articles of the Bitcoin Law.

As background noise to all these changes is vocal concerns about authoritarian actions Bukele is taking; he has removed judges, influenced a change in the constitution to enable a potential second term, had troops enter parliament, and implemented stern policies aimed at reducing gang violence. The term “dictator” is banded around.

Nevertheless, he is an extremely popular president: he has an approval rating of 85%. Many citizens, sick of the years of violence and corruption, are pleased to finally see a decisive Salvadoran President. Could he become a beacon for the wider region? Could he be the leader of the Bitcoin age?

Sunday, Sharyn Alfonsi reports from El Salvador, where one tiny town has become a great experiment for cryptocurrency.

“60 Minutes” is the most successful television broadcast in history. Offering hard-hitting investigative reports, interviews, feature segments and profiles of people in the news, the broadcast began in 1968 and is still a hit, over 50 seasons later, regularly making Nielsen’s Top 10.

Subscribe to the “60 Minutes” YouTube channel: http://bit.ly/1S7CLRu
Watch full episodes: http://cbsn.ws/1Qkjo1F
Get more “60 Minutes” from “60 Minutes: Overtime”: http://cbsn.ws/1KG3sdr
Follow “60 Minutes” on Instagram: http://bit.ly/23Xv8Ry
Like “60 Minutes” on Facebook: http://on.fb.me/1Xb1Dao
Follow “60 Minutes” on Twitter: http://bit.ly/1KxUsqX
Subscribe to our newsletter: http://cbsn.ws/1RqHw7T
Download the CBS News app: http://cbsn.ws/1Xb1WC8
Try Paramount+ free: https://bit.ly/2OiW1kZ

For video licensing inquiries, contact: licensing@veritone.com