Bitcoin (BTC) Has Come a Long Way in 3 Years Since El Salvador Adoption – My First Bitcoin Founder

El Salvador-based activist and founder of My First Bitcoin, John Dennehy highlighted the evolution of Bitcoin (BTC) in three years.

El Salvador legalized bitcoin (BTC) three years ago, making it the first country to do so. To mark the occasion, My First Bitcoin founder John Dennehy took a trip down memory lane and highlighted some of the key moments in BTC's evolution over the past three years.

On September 6, 2021, Dennehy was in San Salvador, a day before BTC became legal tender in the country. He went around taking pictures and collecting quotes from people. He noticed that several new Chivo Bitcoin ATMs had been installed around the city.

However, the ATMs were not yet operational at the time. They were also heavily guarded by armed military officers due to an ongoing gang crackdown in 2021.

Now, three years later, the outlook has changed drastically in El Salvador. The country has been building a bitcoin treasury, mining, and education for its citizens.

El Salvador Faces IMF Criticism For Adopting Bitcoin

But El Salvador's pro-bitcoin stance has also drawn criticism from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The country is seeking access to a $1.4 billion loan from the IMF, but the fund has asked El Salvador to make changes to its pro-bitcoin law as a condition for securing the loan. This highlights the IMF's anti-BTC position.

The IMF's Communications Director, Julie Kozack, said that the “risks” are still a main topic of discussion with El Salvador. The IMF is concerned about the digital currency's financial integrity and stability.

As a result of these concerns, the discussions on the $1.4 billion loan have been stalled for over 2 years.

ETF Approval Contributes to BTC Outlook

As a financial product, Bitcoin has seen more institutional and mainstream adoption. Business intelligence and software company MicroStrategy adopted a Bitcoin strategy a year before El Salvador did. Notably, the Michael Saylor-led firm has increased this strategy throughout the years. It even inspired Metaplanet and Semler Scientific to follow suit.

Several years after seeking the United States Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) approval on spot Bitcoin ETF offerings, the regulator finally greenlighted the product in January 2024.

This was a major milestone for the digital currency. Top investment asset management firms such as BlackRock, Fidelity, Grayscale, and Bitwise became issuers of Bitcoin ETFs.

While this isn't directly linked to El Salvador's adoption, it does show how the asset has progressed.

Halving Event And a New ATH

The launch of spot Bitcoin ETF led to a massive uptick in BTC adoption among institutional investors.

To add to this, in April 2024, Bitcoin had its fourth halving, an event that occurs once every four years and involves splitting miner’s rewards. In the weeks leading up to the 2024 halving, Bitcoin skyrocketed as its price hit a new all-time high (ATH) of over $73,750.07.

The flagship cryptocurrency has seen some price pullback since then but is still better off than when El Salvador adopted it as a legal tender.

A historical snapshot shows that Bitcoin price trades hit a low of $51,753 this week. However, at the last check, it was trading at $54,521.75, showing a 1.09% gain in the past 24 hours.

The above is the detailed content of Bitcoin (BTC) Has Come a Long Way in 3 Years Since El Salvador Adoption – My First Bitcoin Founder. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!