El Salvador shook the world in 2021 when President Nayib Bukele made bitcoin (BTC) legal tender, giving the cryptocurrency the same status as the US dollar, the Central American country’s official currency.
Since then, El Salvador has amassed a bitcoin reserve worth approximately $630 million, established one of the most advanced crypto regulatory frameworks in the world, promised to issue $1 billion in bonds The state backed bitcoin and even convinced stablecoin giant Tether to move its headquarters to the country.
But one of the country’s most rewarding successes has been its extensive educational program centered around Bitcoin, according to Stacy Herbert, director of El Salvador’s Bitcoin office.
“Bitcoin country needs Bitcoin engineers, right? We produce them, and it’s a long manufacturing process, but it creates a wonderful positive feedback loop,” Herbert told CoinDesk in an interview. “They graduate, they get jobs, they all become friends. …You can feel a tech vibe emerging in San Salvador.
The idea, Herbert said, is that when large companies like Tether or Bitfinex decide to move their headquarters or open offices in El Salvador, they have no problem finding the highly skilled workforce needed. to manage their operations.
“Many students find ample opportunities to work in these companies as the demand is huge. [for them]”, Herbert said. The quality of Salvadorans’ Bitcoin education is attracting even more companies to consider El Salvador as a jurisdiction in which to set up operations, which, she continued, motivates more students to study Bitcoin.
President Bukele has a “vision of a renaissance.” Singapore 2.0. Florence 2.0. How do you get there? You have to strategize,” Herbert said. “You need a talent pool. You need people who are smart, optimistic and brilliant. And that’s what we have here in El Salvador.
Bitcoin Education
Herbert is a long-time bitcoin enthusiast – she was one of the first people to talk about the cryptocurrency on international television in 2010. She arrived in El Salvador in 2021 with her husband Max Keizer shortly after bitcoin became legal tender and almost immediately created an educational program, CUBO+, to train Bitcoin developers in the country. Bukele then chose her to lead the Bitcoin Office, which was officially established in November 2022.
The Bitcoin Office advises on policy and legislation and provides marketing for El Salvador’s Bitcoin initiatives. But the first thing Herbert did upon his appointment was work to introduce Bitcoin education to high schools. The program initially targeted just five institutions, but has now been rolled out nationally.
Students learn how to configure Bitcoin and Lightning Network nodes, as well as the technical details of ASICs, specialized computers exclusively used to produce Bitcoin. The ASIC lessons in particular were met with enthusiasm, Herbert said. “They were able to hold something in their hands, and that really helped them understand in depth.” »
But Bitcoin classes aren’t limited to high school students. CUBO+ offers a course that Herbert described as a “very intense bootcamp” that lays out the theory, history and philosophy of Bitcoin. Open to approximately 100 to 125 applicants – who earn college credit for their participation – the program ultimately selects 21 students with the best technical skills and takes their training even further. Some students were flown to Tuscany and Lugano to participate in Bitcoin workshops.
“100% of students [in the inaugural year] found a job,” Herbert said. “Some of them earn almost $4,000 a month. You know, the average starting salary for a computer science graduate in El Salvador in 2023 was $600 per month.
Nearly 80,000 civil servants have also completed three-day Bitcoin certification courses. And another program will be rolled out in schools – from first to ninth grade – on the themes of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics. “We are laying the foundation on which we can build a great economy,” Herbert said. “It’s not just about the technical details of Bitcoin. It is a change in mentality, to understand what sovereignty and independence mean.
CUBO+ has already paid off for Herbert on a personal level. Three employees work under him at the Bitcoin Office, all of whom graduated from the program before coming to work for the government.
Let the good times roll
The Salvadoran government recently agreed to delist its Bitcoin wallet and make acceptance of Bitcoin payments voluntary in the private sector (instead of mandatory) as part of a new $3.5 billion deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Herbert said that the Bitcoin Office was not involved in the negotiations but that, in her opinion, the concessions made by El Salvador did not change anything at all. “The priority is always people, so [let’s do] whatever helps people the most, while preserving our sovereignty and strategy to achieve our vision.
However, since the announcement of the IMF agreement, El Salvador has slightly modified its Bitcoin acquisition strategy. In addition to purchasing one bitcoin per day, the government purchased, on three separate days, an additional 10 bitcoins. Asked if the change in trend was a reaction to the IMF deal, Herbert replied: “You would have to ask the president directly.” … [But] he is ready to accelerate. Donald Trump takes office in a few days and the race is on. Globally, there is a race to keep up with us.
For Herbert, El Salvador earned its place in the history books as soon as it created the first-ever national strategic Bitcoin reserve, and the United States, if it ends up building its own reserve, will simply be stepping on the traces of this Latin American country. It is therefore a competition, and El Salvador is not necessarily an outsider: according to Herbert, other countries will have to strive to follow Salvadoran initiatives, which are starting to bear fruit.
The Central American nation has never known peace and prosperity, at least not in living memory, a Salvadoran lawyer recently told Herbert. In the 1970s, while the United States was enjoying disco music and the golden age of Hollywood, El Salvador was experiencing social unrest that would eventually spark the Salvadoran Civil War, which left the State too weak to cope with the growth of violent gangs in the 1990s.
But Bukele’s leadership, combined with the Bitcoin initiatives, is completely changing the mindset of the population, Herbert said. Suddenly the future looks exciting.
“I think El Salvador deserves the good times that are coming, that are here,” Herbert said. “We’re just starting these good times.”
