El Salvador's Bukele Says Bitcoin Strategy a 'Net Positive,' but Adoption Lags

El Salvador now holds $400 million in its "public wallet alone," President Nayib Bukele said in an interview with TIME.

El Salvador's Bitcoin strategy has been a "net positive" for the country, bringing in branding, investments and tourism, President Nayib Bukele said in an interview with TIME.

However, the president also noted that the cryptocurrency's adoption has fallen short of expectations.

"Bitcoin hasn't had the widespread adoption we hoped for," Bukele told the magazine. "I feel that it could have worked better, and there is still time to make some improvements, but it hasn’t resulted in anything negative."

El Salvador became the first country to adopt Bitcoin as a legal tender in September 2021. Since then, it has purchased over 2,300 BTC, which are now valued at around $400 million, to be held "in the public wallet alone," according to Bukele.

The move into Bitcoin has brought attention to the country, and Bukele pointed out that while institutions like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned of risks, those have yet to materialize.

"It gave us branding, it brought us investments, it brought us tourism," he said, adding that he feels the positive outcomes outweighed the negative.

"I'm not going to say it's the currency of the future, but there's a lot of future in that currency," Bukele concluded.

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