Bo Hines, who leads President Donald Trump’s advisory council on digital assets, recently met with El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele to discuss potential partnerships in the crypto space.

In a post shared on June 5, Hines revealed that the meeting centered around digital asset development and a shared ambition to reshape global finance. He also praised Bukele for spearheading what he described as transformative change in El Salvador.

The Central American country’s official Bitcoin Office confirmed the engagement, noting that both leaders explored opportunities for collaboration between the United States and El Salvador in the digital asset space.

The office wrote:

“[President Bukele and Bo Hines] discussed collaboration between the United States and El Salvador on bitcoin and digital assets.”

Meanwhile, Hines’ visit follows President Bukele’s recent White House trip, during which he met with President Trump to discuss regional security and prison agreements.

Although Bitcoin was not discussed in that meeting, Hines’s presence in El Salvador places the spotlight back on crypto policy.

What does this mean?

This diplomatic engagement may be tied to Trump’s broader crypto agenda.

Earlier this year, the Trump administration unveiled plans to create a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR). This reserve would consist of Bitcoin acquired through budget-neutral strategies and digital assets recovered from criminal seizures.

Although the US has not made official Bitcoin purchases, Hines’ trip could indicate that the US is exploring how to model its reserve after El Salvador’s approach. Though the current US mandate is that it will only acquire Bitcoin through ‘budget-neutral’ methodologies. Bukele’s government was the first to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender and currently holds more than 6,198 BTC.

At the same time, El Salvador continues to promote crypto literacy through national education programs covering Bitcoin, AI, and emerging technologies. Speaking on these programs, Stacy Herbert, the Director of El Salvador Bitcoin Office, said:

“El Salvador is preparing our young people to become global tech leaders by not just teaching them the required technical skills but by also giving them an ethical and philosophical foundation to build the world they want to see.”

Notably, the Trump administration has also adopted a pro-crypto approach by introducing legislation and rules that could further help the emerging industry thrive.

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Only 20 of the 181 Bitcoin service providers registered with El Salvador’s central bank are operational, with the rest failing to meet the country’s requirements under its Bitcoin Law. 

Local media outlet El Mundo cited data from the Central Reserve Bank of El Salvador, showing that 11% of the service providers are operational. According to the central bank’s database, the rest of the providers are classified as non-operational. 

The data showed that at least 22 non-operational providers have failed to meet most of the country’s Bitcoin Law requirements, which mandate that providers implement stringent supervision of their financial systems. 

Most of El Salvador’s Bitcoin service providers are non-operational

El Salvador’s Bitcoin Law requires providers to maintain an Anti-Money Laundering (AML) program, keep records that accurately reflect the company’s assets, liabilities and equity and have a tailored cybersecurity program depending on the nature of its services. 

The data showed that 89% of the registered providers have failed to meet some of these obligations to be classified as operational. 

Still, a few firms have satisfied the legal criteria, including the state-backed Chivo Wallet and companies including Crypto Trading & Investment and Fintech Américas.

Related: Cathie Wood to kick off El Salvador’s AI public education program

El Salvador’s Bitcoin experiment

In 2021, El Salvador became the first country to accept Bitcoin as legal tender along with the US dollar. This move made Bitcoin integral to El Salvador President Nayib Bukele’s economic strategy. 

However, the Central American country recently signed a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on a $1.4 billion loan in exchange for rolling back some of its Bitcoin-related efforts. Under the agreement, taxes will be paid in US dollars and public institutions will limit their use of Bitcoin.

On March 3, the IMF asked the country to stop its public sector Bitcoin buys. Still, Bukele said the government will continue to purchase Bitcoin, seemingly contradicting its IMF deal.

The IMF deal prompted speculation about whether the country would rescind Bitcoin’s status as legal tender. John Dennehy, an El Salvador-based Bitcoin activist and educator, said in an X Space with Cointelegraph that a rollback law changing Bitcoin’s legal status is set to take effect on April 30.

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El Salvador will continue acquiring Bitcoin despite its agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), according to President Nayib Bukele.

On March 5, Bukele dismissed conjecture that the country would halt Bitcoin purchases and reaffirmed that El Salvador would continue acquiring BTC, regardless of external pressures.

He stated:

“[Our Bitcoin purchases] is not stopping. If it didn’t stop when the world ostracized us and most ‘bitcoiners’ abandoned us, it won’t stop now, and it won’t stop in the future.”

Following his remarks, El Salvador’s National Bitcoin Office confirmed a fresh Bitcoin acquisition, bringing the country’s total holdings to 6,101 BTC—valued at approximately $530 million at the reporting time.

Bukele’s declaration comes amid reports that El Salvador has agreed to limit its government’s direct involvement in BTC-related activities. The IMF outlined that the nation must introduce stricter oversight of digital assets to align with evolving global financial regulations.

As part of this arrangement, the Central American country is barred from purchasing Bitcoin voluntarily, including through mining operations. The only exception applies to Bitcoin obtained via seizures, forfeitures, or other legal enforcement actions.

This development follows the country’s earlier agreement to ease its Bitcoin policies in exchange for an initial $1.4 billion financial aid package from the IMF. The conditions require the removal of mandatory Bitcoin acceptance for businesses and discontinuing tax payments in BTC.

Community reaction

Bukele’s statement has drawn a divided response within the crypto space. While some applaud his continued Bitcoin advocacy, others call for greater transparency regarding how El Salvador will navigate its IMF commitments.

JAN3 CEO Samson Mow suggested that Bukele should clarify how the country intends to maintain its BTC strategy within the new regulatory constraints. Similarly, John Carvalho, CEO of Synonym, called for details on the government’s long-term plan, saying:

“The IMF news seems to clearly prohibit what you are doing, and yet you have taken the deal, so what is your plan and what do you think happens next?”

However, Stacy Herbert, the director of El Salvador’s National Bitcoin Office, criticized those who doubted the government’s commitment.

She stated:

“Some ‘bitcoiners’ trust the words of the IMF over the stacking actions of El Salvador recorded for eternity onto the Bitcoin blockchain.”

[Editor’s Note: The IMF agreement clearly states that the El Salvadorian government may not continue to acquire Bitcoin in any format outside of law enforcement, including mining. Failure to comply with this requirement could cost the country $3.5 billion in aid over the agreement term. There is no trust in the ‘word of the IMF’ required to ascertain these facts. If El Salvador continues to acquire Bitcoin the IMF has the power to revoke funding unless the government has identified a loophole that has not been publicly shared.]

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