El Salvador's president Nayib Bukele meets with Michael Saylor to discuss Bitcoin

Key Takeaways

• Nayib Bukele and Michael Saylor discussed Bitcoin at the presidential palace on Feb. 13.
• El Salvador's recent legislative amendments make Bitcoin voluntary legal tender and prohibit its use for tax payments, aligning with IMF loan requirements.

El Salvador President Nayib Bukele and Strategy founder Michael Saylor met at Casa Presidencial, the Presidential House of El Salvador, on Thursday to discuss Bitcoin, according to the country’s National Bitcoin Office (ONBTC).

On Feb. 13, Bukele shared a photo on X, showing that the two Bitcoin advocates had dinner at the presidential palace.

El Salvador added one Bitcoin to its holdings around the time, bringing its total to 6,077 BTC, valued at approximately $590 million, according to Arkham Intelligence data . The purchase is part of its daily dollar-cost-averaging strategy.

Saylor’s Strategy just resumed its Bitcoin acquisition last week, acquiring 7,633 Bitcoin and boosting its BTC reserves to 478,740 BTC, worth approximately $46 billion.

ONBTC shared more photos of the meeting on Friday, but the details remain private.

The meeting comes amid recent regulatory changes in El Salvador, which adopted Bitcoin as legal tender in 2021. The Central American nation recently amended its Bitcoin law to comply with a $1.4 billion International Monetary Fund loan agreement.

“The Bitcoin situation in El Salvador is complex, and there are many questions that still need to be answered,” said Samson Mow in a recent post on X. Mow described El Salvador’s Bitcoin status as a “glass is half full” situation.

“The amendments to the Bitcoin Law are very clever and allow for compliance with the IMF agreement while allowing the El Salvador government to save face,” Mow added. However, he noted that the law no longer classifies Bitcoin as a currency while making it “voluntary legal tender.”

The amendments prohibit tax payments and government fees with Bitcoin, and restrict the government from “touching BTC,” according to Mow. Article 8 of the changes removes the state’s obligation to facilitate Bitcoin transactions, potentially affecting the future of Chivo, the government-provided crypto wallet.

The IMF has consistently opposed El Salvador’s Bitcoin adoption, citing financial stability risks. The recent loan agreement requires the country to scale back its Bitcoin implementation.