A number of Chilean lawmakers are at present pushing for laws that may set up a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR), in keeping with particulars shared by nation-state mining lobbyist Andrés Villagrán. Revealing his progress by way of X, Villagrán defined that he has been assembly with quite a few officers to advocate for BTC’s potential financial advantages.
Chile’s Path To Bitcoin Adoption
“In 2023, I launched into an unbelievable journey with Bitcoin! I’ve had conferences with over 20 parliamentarians and a number of other ministers explaining the advantages of Bitcoin to Chile and its individuals,” wrote Villagrán, including that his outreach intensified additional in mid-2024.
Villagrán’s efforts have been supported by Dennis Porter, CEO of the US nonprofit Satoshi Act Fund, and Simon Collins, CEO of Stackr—each of whom carry prior expertise introducing laws and selling sustainable BTC mining practices. In accordance with Villagrán:
“At first of 2024, I started conferences with many deputies from this lengthy and slim strip of land that’s Chile […] In mid-2024, I met Simon Collins and Dennis Porter, with whom I established a collaboration as they’d each walked this identical path earlier than (Dennis with Satoshi Act Fund has already launched 30 payments). So I invited them to Chile to current empirical data backed by papers to parliamentarians and the Chilean authorities.”
Throughout November 2024, the workforce offered the idea of a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve to authorities representatives, together with members of the administration of President Gabriel Boric, Deputy Andrés Giordano (Frente Amplio), and Deputy Juan Santana (Socialist Celebration). Their discussions touched on precedents set by comparable proposals in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Texas inside america, which had been led by Porter.
Moreover, Deputy Gael Yeomans—aligned with the Social Convergence occasion, a part of the ruling left-leaning Frente Amplio coalition—proposed forming a “Bitcoin Bench,” or Bancada Bitcoin, tasked with conducting in-depth analysis, analyzing worldwide laws, and drafting associated payments.
Villagrán praised the initiative, stating: “Deputy Gael Yeomans proposed making a Bitcoin Bench (Bancada Bitcoin) … Personally, I consider it will be very best for this Bitcoin Bench to be from left to proper.”
Regardless of this momentum, the push for a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve may face headwinds from the Central Financial institution of Chile, which has traditionally expressed skepticism relating to BTC as a nationwide reserve asset. In December of the earlier yr, the central financial institution rejected the thought, citing regulatory hurdles and IMF requirements for reserve belongings, particularly safety, liquidity, and reliability.
However the central financial institution’s reservations, Villagrán stays optimistic, stating that extra conversations with the Ministry of Finance, in addition to senators and deputies from throughout the political spectrum, are deliberate for 2025:
“I need to make it clear, in 2025 we may have conferences with the Ministry of Finance to current particularly the SBR, as nicely with ALL Senators and Deputies, so that may be one of many first nations the place Bitcoin is a vital a part of the nation’s financial system.”
Notably, throughout a livestream with Porter, Villagrán highlighted that Chilean regulation permits the Central Financial institution to carry Bitcoin. He additionally talked about plans to interact in discussions with the financial institution later this yr.
If the Chilean proposal beneficial properties traction, the nation would turn into the second in Latin America to lately discover such a measure. In November of final yr, Brazilian lawmakers launched a plan to allocate 5% of Brazil’s international reserves into BTC, aiming to safeguard towards financial uncertainties.
At press time, BTC traded at $99,260.
Featured picture created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com