El Salvador’s leader, President Nayib Bukele, is set for another five-year term, with exit polls showing a massive lead after Sunday’s vote. Bukele, in office since 2019, was expected to win, given his popularity and a significant lead in pre-election polls.
El Salvador’s re-elected president
Bukele, known for his tough stance on gang violence, made waves in his first term by embracing Bitcoin. In 2021, El Salvador made history by becoming the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender. Alongside this, a crypto wallet called Chivo was introduced to boost Bitcoin use. While praised by Bitcoin fans, this move drew criticism from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
In a tweet, Bukele confidently announced victory, stating, “According to our numbers, we have won the presidential election with more than 85% of the votes and a minimum of 58 of 60 deputies in the Assembly.”
Known for tackling gang violence and going all-in on Bitcoin during his first term, El Salvador made headlines in 2021 by becoming the first nation to make Bitcoin legal money. Bukele’s team introduced the Chivo crypto wallet to boost Bitcoin use and started buying the digital coin as an investment. Cheers from Bitcoin fans, but international groups like the IMF didn’t like it.
Volcano Bonds approval
IMF warned against using Bitcoin as legal cash, urging El Salvador to tighten rules for its new payment system. They highlighted “big risks” related to Bitcoin for consumer protection, financial integrity, and stability.
This warning came during an official IMF visit, part of its yearly check on member countries. Ignoring critics, El Salvador is moving ahead with unique plans. They got the nod in December to launch “Volcano bonds” backed by Bitcoin. The money raised will fuel a Bitcoin mining industry powered only by renewable energy.
As Bukele secures his re-election, he’s dealing with global doubts. The overall crypto market is at $1.64 trillion, slightly down by 0.48% in the last day. But the total crypto market volume shot up by 21.61%, hitting $35.18 billion in the last 24 hours. A slice of $3.95 billion comes from decentralized finance (DeFi), making up 11.23% of the total crypto market volume.
Stablecoins are a big part, standing at $30.53 billion, a whopping 86.78% of the total crypto market volume in the last 24 hours. Bitcoin’s dominance, a key factor in the crypto world, is now at 51.17%, a small drop of 0.03% for the day.
