Max Keiser’s Request to President Bukele
The well-known bitcoiner, Max Keiser, recently retracted his bid to get El Salvador President Nayib Bukele and Argentina’s President-elect Javier Milei to discuss Bitcoin. Keiser had taken to X (formerly Twitter) last week to publicly ask Bukele for permission to invite Milei to San Salvador. When questioned about the need for permission, Keiser explained that it was a matter of protocol.
However, President Bukele has not responded to the request at the time of writing. Keiser is currently working as a “senior advisor” to the El Salvador leader on BTC-related matters. It is worth noting that Bukele, who was previously enthusiastic about Bitcoin adoption, has recently changed his approach on social media. Nonetheless, Bukele did take the time on November 27 to share a picture of a supporter wearing a Bukele t-shirt and cap, alongside Keiser’s wife and fellow bitcoiner Stacy Herbert.
Keiser later acknowledged the need for El Salvador to become a “Bitcoin country” and expressed concerns that diverting efforts to bring Argentina up to speed could dilute these efforts and hinder his adoptive nation’s goal of remaining “shitcoin-free.”
Rival Views on Bitcoin
President Bukele of El Salvador has been advocating for Bitcoin adoption within his country and is aiming to make history by running for re-election in next year’s presidential elections. In 2021, his government adopted Bitcoin as legal tender and managed to modify the constitution to allow him to run in 2024, breaking the previous law that limited presidents to one term in office. Despite a slowdown in his administration’s BTC-buying policies, Bukele’s popularity remains high.
Milei, the President-elect of Argentina, is also known for his positive views on Bitcoin and his plans to abolish the nation’s fiat peso. He even destroyed a piñata representation of the Argentine Central Bank on a TV show leading up to his election. However, their opinions on national currencies differ. While Bukele is interested in de-dollarizing El Salvador’s economy, Milei intends to dollarize Argentina within the next few years. Nevertheless, there have been attempts by prominent Argentine political figures to persuade Milei to embrace BTC instead.
Milei recently won the presidential election run-off with 55% of the vote, defeating his opponent, economy minister Sergio Massa, by a margin of 3 million votes.
