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El Salvador Appoints Bitcoin Standard Author as Economic Adviser
El Salvador's National Bitcoin Office was opened last year to oversee all the country's projects related to Bitcoin.
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The National Bitcoin Office (ONBTC), a department of El Salvador’s government managing the country’s crypto-related projects, hired Dr. Saifedean Ammous as an economic adviser. Dr. Ammous is the author of “The Bitcoin Standard,” – a book on the economic theory and history of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency.
El Salvador Appoints Bitcoin Economic Advisor
Dr. Saifedean Ammous, a best-selling economist and author of the popular ‘The Bitcoin Standard’ book, will join El Salvador’s National Bitcoin Office as an economic adviser. The Palestinian economist announced his new job position on Twitter on Tuesday.
“Thrilled, honored and excited to start working with the Bitcoin Office in the first country to adopt a bitcoin standard!”
– he said in the tweet.
Established shortly after the FTX collapse in November 2022, ONBTC is El Salvador’s government office meant to oversee all of the country’s projects related to the world’s biggest cryptocurrency. According to the official post by Torres Legal, the primary objective of the office is to “design, diagnose, plan, program, coordinate, follow up, measure, analyze and evaluate plans, programs, and projects related to Bitcoin for the economic development of the country.”
The ONBTC recently reported that Dr. Ammous visited El Salvador to participate in CUBO+, El Salvador’s Bitcoin educational program meant to teach the code and concepts of Bitcoin and the Lighting Network. Ammous attracted the crypto community’s attention in 2018 when he published “The Bitcoin Standard,” – a book that explores the history, economics, and potential implications of Bitcoin as a decentralized digital currency.
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El Salvador Continues to Bet Big on Bitcoin
From a broader perspective, hiring Dr. Ammous underscores El Salvador’s commitment to utilizing Bitcoin to strengthen the country’s economy. In September 2021, El Salvador became the first nation in the world to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender. This means that the cryptocurrency can be used alongside the national currency for various transactions, such as purchases of goods and services, payment of taxes, and debt settlements.
This decision attracted raised many eyebrows. One organization that did not think it was a good idea is the international monetary fund (IMF), which advised El Salvador to drop Bitcoin as a legal tender, citing economic risks. As expected, El Salvador rejected the financial watchdog’s words of caution.
More recently, the Central American government has adopted a law that seeks to regulate the issuance of other cryptocurrencies by state and private entities. In other words, the bill aims to lure national and foreign investors while generating new financing opportunities for residents, companies, and the government.
What do you think about El Salvador’s increasing reliance on Bitcoin? Let us know in the comments below.
Tim Fries
Tim Fries is the cofounder of The Tokenist. He has a B. Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan, and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Tim served as a Senior Associate on the investment team at RW Baird's US Private Equity division, and is also the co-founder of Protective Technologies Capital, an investment firm specializing in sensing, protection and control solutions.
