El Salvador — crypto regulation

Status: legal · Last reviewed 2026-11-05

First country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender (2021). The Bitcoin Law was amended in Jan 2025 under a US$1.4B IMF Extended Fund Facility: merchant acceptance is now voluntary and taxes are paid in USD. The Digital Assets Issuance Law (2023) makes CNAD the regulator for token offerings and digital asset service providers, and an Aug 2025 Investment Banking Law lets licensed investment banks hold bitcoin and serve sophisticated investors. In Oct 2026 the IMF completed the 2nd and 3rd EFF reviews and waived missed bitcoin-accumulation targets after the government said recent purchases came from private donations. Majority control of the Chivo wallet passed to a private operator in Sep 2026, and the state reserve stood at about 7,800 BTC in Oct 2026.

Legislation