Students get educated on #Bitcoin, paving the way for the future of payments

• El Salvador introduces a ten-week curriculum to teach students about Bitcoin. 
• The country is pushing for Bitcoin mass adoption despite being down in its BTC holdings.  

The government of El Salvador continues to champion mass Bitcoin adoption. The Central American country is educating students on how to use Bitcoin as part of a new initiative that it intends to help replicate around the world.

A viral clip shared on Twitter shows educators walking students through hands-on steps to receive and send Bitcoin over the Lightning Network in class. The effort is part of a ten-week curriculum that will also teach them Bitcoin concepts like nodes, double spending, and Bitcoin halving.

pic.twitter.com/tsdvqccnHQ

— Bitcoin Clip (@BitcoinClip) December 26, 2022

Aside from the government’s effort, El Salvador has also seen private projects set ambitious Bitcoin education targets in the country. Mi Primer Bitcoin (My First Bitcoin), an international Bitcoin education project in El Salvador, says it expects to teach 250,000 students about Bitcoin in 2023.

The project claims to have taught 10,000 students so far in 2022. This is a 25x increase from the around 400 it taught in 2021. It currently offers a Bitcoin diploma course that is sponsored by donors.

“We are focused on teaching free, independent & impartial Bitcoin education to the world’s first Bitcoin nation: El Salvador. The team is united by that mission, and we try to say yes to every opportunity that comes our way,” the project said in a blog post.

The President Nayib Bukele-led government has also been rolling out other policies to drive mass adoption of Bitcoin. In November, President Bukele announced the creation of the National Bitcoin Office (ONBTC) under the Ministry of Tourism.

According to Decree No. 49 which legalizes it, the new parastatal will manage all crypto-related projects. It will also be the first port of call for Bitcoiners looking to migrate to El Salvador. Additionally, it will serve as a bridge to organize meetings between individuals and the president for Bitcoin and blockchain implementation in the country.

El Salvador underwater in its Bitcoin investment bet.

While El Salvador promotes the adoption of Bitcoin, it has also been adding the asset to its national reserve. According to data from NayibTracker, since announcing Bitcoin as legal tender in Sept. 2021, El Salvador has bought around 2,460 BTC.

The platform tracks all El Salvador’s BTC purchases using President Bukele’s announcements. Per its estimate, El Salvador is down 61.24% in its BTC investment, with an unrealized loss of over $67 million. El Salvador BTC holdings purchased at around $108 million are currently worth about $41 million.

Regardless, El Salvador is not phased by the status of its holdings. President Bukele last month announced that El Salvador will buy 1 BTC every day. He was joined in the drive by the founder of TRON, Justin Sun, and has announced a discontinuation of the scheme.