Bitcoin Bank Proposal Advances in El Salvador, Offering Expanded Financing Opportunities

El Salvador is advancing a proposal to establish private investment banks offering diverse financing options in Dollars and bitcoins. The aim is to provide Bitcoin investors with more financial services and fewer restrictions.

El Salvador Moves to Establish Bitcoin-Friendly Investment Banks, Promising Reduced Restrictions and Diverse Financing Options

In a recent report by Cointelegraph, The Bank for Private Investment will "diversify the financing options"available to investors in both Dollars and Bitcoin.

El Salvador's president, Nayib Bukele, advocates for establishing private investment banks in the country. If authorized, these banks would provide Bitcoin investors access to financial services with fewer restrictions than traditional banks.

“As part of our economic plan for El Salvador, we propose a BPI, Bank for Private Investment, where we can diversify the financing options offered to potential investors in Dollars and Bitcoin,” the Salvadoran Ambassador to the United States Milena Mayorga wrote in a June 14 post on X.

“President Bukele hits the ground running in the new term with new legislation establishing a Bitcoin Bank.” On the same day, Max Keiser, a senior Bitcoin advisor to Bukele, noted that Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood's prediction that El Salvador's real GDP would increase “could scale 10-fold during the next five years” has only become “more likely.”

It occurred two weeks after Bukele was sworn in for an additional five-year presidential tenure following a landslide electoral victory in February.

El Salvador's Proposed Bitcoin Banks to Operate with Looser Regulations, Including $50 Million Minimum Capital and Foreign Ownership

According to El Mundo, the BPI will not be subject to the same stringent laws as traditional banks, such as restrictions on engaging overseas banks or finance companies "linked to their shareholders or in a business group." Additionally, loan restrictions will be eliminated.

“Investment banks will also not be subject to the prohibition of granting credit or assuming risks for more than 25% of their Asset Fund in relation to the same person,” the June 14 report stated.

The new private investments "must be created" with a minimum share capital of $50 million and at least two shareholders, who may be foreigners, if approved.

It was stressed that a BPI could operate in any legal tender, including the United States Dollar and Bitcoin, and apply for sanction to become a digital asset and service provider.

The reform was proposed to the Technology, Tourism, and Investment Commission by El Salvador's Minister of Economy, María Luisa Hayem, under the guidance of Bukele. Nevertheless, it has not yet been authorized.

“The reform has not been approved; The legislators have not yet agreed to call officials to consult the objectives of the project nor have they put it to a vote in the Commission,” it added.

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