El Salvador’s Bitcoin Report Card with Aaron Van Wirdum - WBD424

Location: London
Date: Tuesday 9th November
Project: Bitcoin Magazine
Role: Print Editor-In-Chief


When I first visited El Salvador, towards the end of 2019,
Michael Petersen was in the early stages of implementing his
vision of a local bitcoin economy in the coastal village of El
Zonte. What started as a small-scale experiment has become a
transformative initiative and a key driver in the country's
adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender.


On 7th June 2021, El Salvador passed the Bitcoin Law, with an
ambitious plan to replicate El Zonte nationwide and make Bitcoin
a central part of El Salvador’s economy. Nayib Bukele, the
Salvadoran President, mandated an ambitious 3-month deadline to
implement the Law. And, despite the complete lack of both public
and private infrastructure, on 7th September 2021, El Salvador
became the first country in the world to make Bitcoin legal
tender.


In this interview, I talk to journalist and Print Editor-In-Chief
at Bitcoin Magazine, Aaron Van Wirdum. We discuss the
implementation of the Bitcoin law, what has changed in El
Salvador and which nation-states might follow in their footsteps.