On the way to global crypto maturity
Over the more than fifteen-year history of cryptocurrency, its importance as a special class of asset has been steadily growing. This fact is largely due to the growing institutional investment in the industry, which is leading to the adoption of digital currencies around the world. While some countries are attempting to recognize cryptocurrency as an official means of payment (El Salvador), others, such as China, are pursuing protectionist domestic policies, restricting the circulation of digital assets at all levels. However, it is hardly possible to resist the actively gaining momentum of the global crypto-machine, supported by the world's technology giants at the helm of key management decisions.
Developing cryptocountries
In 2021, El Salvador became the first country in the world to recognize cryptocurrency as an official means of payment. The country's government assumed that alternative financial instruments would reduce the country's dependence on the U.S. dollar, overcome the financial crisis and crime, increase accessibility of financial services for the population and make an important innovative breakthrough, gaining the title of a leader in the crypto industry. Many experts have even predicted that San Salvador could take the place of a digital relocation center in the future amid tightening regulations for tokens in China, Canada and the United States. However, the ambitious plans were not destined to come true - at the end of 2024, El Salvador's public debt rose to 85% of GDP, the country showed the lowest economic growth rate in Central America, and the share of national cryptocurrency users fell to a negative record 7.5% (previously this figure exceeded 20%).
In addition to the fact that bitcoin received the status of official means of payment, which equated it with the U.S. dollar - the official currency of El Salvador - for all domestic payments, including taxes and salaries, for almost four years the government of the country has created all conditions to support the interest of private businesses in the cryptoindustry. Special economic zones were created where companies used bitcoin exclusively for settlements, zero tax on profits and transactions with cryptocurrencies were established, the Adopting El program was introduced, under which a thousand investors per year, who invested in the country's economy of digital currency in the amount of $1 million or more, could receive citizenship of El Salvador. In addition, work was carried out to improve the financial literacy of the local population - teaching schoolchildren how to work with mining and open source code, and specialized courses for officials. For the convenience of citizens, a state wallet Chivo was developed, which allows using bitcoin for transactions and exchange for dollars, and $30 in bitcoins was offered as an incentive to citizens who registered in the application for the first time. Undoubtedly, these measures allowed to create a temporary artificial boom on cryptocurrency, but it was not possible to increase the real accessibility of financial services for the population. Bitcoin continues to be a high-risk asset with high volatility and a low level of confidence both on the part of the population, which continues to keep savings in U.S. dollars, and on the part of businesses. At the same time, the cryptoecosystem built in El Salvador has become a favorable environment for fraud: local courts are overflowing with applications from defrauded crypto wallet holders, and in 2022, $12 to $24 million from the state budget was stolen through fake Chivo Wallet users.
Despite the obvious difficulties in forming the appropriate infrastructure, the government of El Salvador does not miss an opportunity to follow the current green agenda. In the La Union region, there are plans to build a smart city that will utilize the energy of the Cochagu volcano for cryptocurrency mining. According to the plan, the city will have zero tax on all activities (except VAT), as well as zero CO2 emissions. The project has already attracted private investment - the Turkish company Yilport will allocate $1.6 billion for the modernization of the seaport in Akahutla and the construction of a new port in La Union, where it is planned to build a “Bitcoin City”.
The official adoption of bitcoin was seen as a solution to a number of economic problems that had arisen in El Salvador. However, failing to achieve its intended plans, the government was forced to move away from widespread adoption of alternative financial instruments in early 2025 in exchange for $1.4 billion in IMF funding. Today, bitcoin remains the official means of payment, but its use has become voluntary for the private sector, taxes must be paid only in U.S. dollars, and government regulation and oversight of the industry has been strengthened to protect consumers and investors. Thus, despite Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele's statements that the country will continue to accumulate crypto-reserves and is not going to abandon the digital financial future, it is unlikely that such an experiment can be called a success.
Nevertheless, many Latin American countries have followed El Salvador's experience. Argentina has also recognized the legitimacy of bitcoin's transactional use to combat inflation and domestic instability. As of June 2024, Argentine investors have purchased $91 billion worth of digital currencies, an all-time record in the Latin America region. In addition, there is sufficient interest in the industry in Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela and Mexico. This is largely due to the cheap electricity for cryptocurrency mining, which is a strong argument for miners who invest millions in the development of the crypto industry in the region and the availability of financial services for the population. For example, the largest US mining company Marathon Digital, in cooperation with local Penguin Infrastructure Holding, announced the launch of a 27 MW cryptocurrency mining facility with 100% consumption of renewable hydroelectric power “Itaipu” in Paraguay (a similar large international project to build a mining site has already been realized by the company in Abu Dhabi). At the same time, another U.S. mining company Sazmining is already using excess electricity generated by the Itaipu HPP for bitcoin mining.
In general, there is a fairly clear trend towards the active development of the crypto industry in countries with unstable economic environments, low living standards and underdeveloped financial systems. Latin America has become the second fastest growing crypto market, according to the analytical agency Chinalysis, with an annual growth rate of more than 40%, the first place in the rating of “crypto adoption” was taken by sub-Saharan Africa. In 2022, CAR became the second state in the world to recognize bitcoin as an official currency. However, we can't talk about the positive consequences of this decision yet, as it was canceled a year later. The CAR government periodically announces the launch of national cryptocurrencies, which after a short rise fall in value and cease to be used, as was the case with the memcoin $CAR, launched in early February and designed to become a unifying force for the African people.
In seeking a way out of the economic crisis, many developing countries are choosing alternative financial instruments in the hope of overcoming their dependence on hard currencies and donor countries. However, low levels of financial literacy, the inability of existing infrastructure to handle digital assets, and high crime rates are having the opposite effect: countries are falling into a new dependence: on volatile currencies, international organizations that decide on subsidies to countries, and international platforms that dictate the rules of the game and manage global financial flows. As we can see from the example of El Salvador, such dependence is extremely dangerous, because in addition to aggravating economic problems, it may entail the risk of losing sovereignty over financial flows in the state.
Bitcoin-president Trump
Another year has shown that cryptocurrencies have become an integral part of the global financial system. Like classical currencies, they are extremely sensitive to changes in the global political environment and general trends in financial markets, despite their positioning as a supply/demand asset. At the end of 2024, the digital market was showing growth amid Donald Trump's promises to turn the US into the “cryptocurrency capital” of the world. The next boom is attributed to Washington's decision to create a strategic reserve of digital assets, which will include bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Solana and other tokens. This initiative is extremely important for the global community: in addition to increasing the legitimacy of bitcoins and other digital assets, it creates a precedent in the face of an authoritative state, which can be followed by other progressive economies.
In general, the new Trump administration is expected to be loyal to the crypto industry, which is probably why 48% of US digital asset owners voters cast their vote for candidate Donald Trump. And the promising expectations are not unfounded, if we look at Trump's inner circle, we see quite a strong financial lobby in favor of alternative financial assets. The director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy is Michael Kratsios and the executive director of the President's Council on Science and Technology is Lynn Parker. David Sachs, the creator of Craft Ventures and one of the former PayPal executives, headed the President's Council on Digital Assets, with the young and progressive Bo Hynes as his assistant. And the largest crypto investor Sriram Krishnan has been appointed as the President's Senior State Advisor for Artificial Intelligence Policy. The list goes on and on, but it is clear that the team created by Trump is focused on the development of the latest technologies, artificial intelligence and crypto industry, and the digital assets themselves are waiting for a new “era of recognition”, which will increase demand for them with a parallel increase in the value of the tokens themselves. The key issue now is the creation of the necessary regulatory framework on the basis of which the crypto market will operate, according to the new Administration, legislative crypto transparency will promote innovation and strengthen economic freedom. At the same time, the owners of cryptocurrency platforms themselves also speak about the need to legally regulate the circulation of digital assets.
Military and technology giants, commonly associated with Trump, have also taken to expanding their crypto portfolios in anticipation of an increase in their value. Investment company BlackRock has allowed the allocation of up to 2% of its portfolio to bitcoins. According to management, the cryptocurrency has long-term investment value and can potentially provide unique and additional sources of diversification. This step on the part of the largest US company looks like a certain impulse, a call to action for the entire industry and reflects the general trends of the US market.
While the United States has embarked on the path of crypto-development, its main strategic rival China is stepping up measures restricting the circulation of tokens. Currently, China has a near-total ban on mining, the use of cryptocurrencies in financial and trading transactions, blocks access to cryptocurrency platforms, and the government itself is actively working to legally restrict cryptocurrency activity within the country. At the same time, until 2021, the PRC was the leader in cryptocurrency mining - about 65% of all global mining operations took place in China. However, with the increasing role of the domestic digital currency, the digital Yuan, Beijing began to pursue a protectionist policy, developing the domestic currency. In early 2025, another measure against digital assets came into force in the PRC - the state regulator tightened control over transnational cryptocurrency transactions involving residents. This trend illustrates a completely opposite approach to the US approach to market regulation - absolute transparency, legality and state control. In one form or another, a similar model restricting cryptocurrency circulation is applied in Algeria, India, Ecuador, Nepal and other countries.
According to the forecast of Binance exchange CEO Richard Teng, 2025 will be a year of growth for the crypto industry largely due to the positive regulatory changes introduced by Donald Trump, who has already been nicknamed the new bitcoin-president. We are now seeing a definite split between the progressive-minded countries - the US and the developing nations of Central America - and the conservative bloc led by China. The former, supported by financial lobbies and businesses, see digital assets as the future, allowing them to diversify their portfolios, while the latter are in favor of full control over assets and market transparency. At the same time, it is obvious that the industry is waiting for a reset, and according to the emerging trend - in a positive direction. The U.S. is setting the trend and showing an authoritative example of how to increase demand for digital assets and “revitalize” the economy, while increasing the legitimacy of cryptocurrencies. However, whether the new administration in Washington will be able to find a balance between the excessive regulation of the market, which may arise as a result of building a regulatory framework for the digital sector, and the substance of cryptocurrency itself, built on the principle of decentralization - time will tell.
