10:1 In the year 2021, the world remained unchanged. The dollar ruled as legal tender. Bitcoin was still called a “dangerous experiment.” And the nations remained silent.
10:2 But in a small land of Central America, A nation called El Salvador, A leader arose—Nayib Bukele— And he declared:
“₿ is not just money. ₿ is liberation.”
10:3 He submitted a bill to congress, And the nation proclaimed Bitcoin as legal tender. The world gasped and asked:
“Did a real government actually adopt ₿?”
10:4 From that day on, All businesses were required to accept ₿. Every citizen was given a Bitcoin wallet – Chivo. The government began to accumulate ₿ reserves. And remittances flowed in sats.
10:5 Supporters praised. Critics raged. The IMF issued warnings, The media mocked, But Bitcoin did not flinch.
10:6 Street vendors raised QR codes. Children bought snacks with ₿. Mothers received cross-border payments in ₿. And the people said:
“We have no bank, But ₿ never abandoned us.”
10:7 Bukele kept buying the dip. He announced the birth of a Bitcoin City. He built mining farms on volcanoes. And they declared:
“We will prove Satoshi With the power of fire beneath our feet.”
10:8 Faith was not perfect. The wallet had bugs. There was confusion and criticism. But ₿ had taken root in a nation. It became the first time in history that “an entire population HODLed together.”
10:9 And the people said:
“We chose this. No one gave us permission.” “₿ is no longer just an asset. It is now our future.”
Fact check: what really happened
The chapter tells the 2021 story. The story kept going, and the ending is not the one in the scripture. We checked it against the IMF's own press release on October 17, 2026.
What changed
"All businesses were required to accept Bitcoin." That is no longer true. When the IMF's board approved a program for El Salvador on February 26, 2025, one of the listed prior actions was legal reforms making private-sector acceptance of Bitcoin voluntary (IMF press release 25/043).
Taxes in dollars. The same list of prior actions says tax payments must be made only in U.S. dollars.
The government wallet is being wound down. The IMF refers to a "public crypto e-wallet" (it does not use the name Chivo). It says transparency was strengthened and the government plans to gradually unwind its participation.
The state steps back from Bitcoin. The program commits to confining public-sector engagement in Bitcoin-related activities, including government transactions in and purchases of Bitcoin.
The deal in numbers
The IMF approved a 40-month arrangement worth about US$1.4 billion (SDR 1,033.92 million, 360% of El Salvador's quota). About US$113 million was available immediately. The press release does not state the legal-tender status of Bitcoin, and it does not give the value of the government's Bitcoin holdings. We are not going to guess either.
What needs a footnote
"The IMF issued warnings." True in spirit, and then the IMF made it a condition of a loan. That is a bigger deal than a warning.
"Every citizen was given a wallet." We did not verify the details of the wallet rollout from a primary source for this fact check.