- El Salvador’s president stirs speculation on Bitcoin.
- Nayib Bukele posts video footage of him meeting a Middle Eastern representative.
- Talk of sovereign money flowing into BTC intensifies.
Rumors are in overdrive that a nation is secretly stacking sats, with Qatar emerging as the prime suspect. However, in a further twist in the matter, El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele sent Bitcoin speculation to boiling point after posting footage of him greeting a man donning Middle Eastern garb.
El Salvador in Bitcoin Talks?
Bukele ignited an X storm with a cryptic tweet on Thursday, showcasing the eyes emoji alongside footage of him shaking hands and exchanging pleasantries with an enigmatic figure in traditional Middle Eastern attire. The absence of context fueled rampant speculation, especially as rumors of sovereign money making a move for Bitcoin swirl.
While the man’s identity is unknown, X user “GreenBean” posited that the man is Ahmed Hatem Al Menhali, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) ambassador to Mexico who also serves as non-resident ambassador to El Salvador, Guatemala, and Belize.
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The UAE has cultivated a crypto-friendly regulatory landscape as it pursues digital asset and fintech initiatives to diversify from oil revenues. The emirates of Abu Dhabi and Dubai have led efforts to attract crypto businesses and investment capital to the region.
Even so, the UAE has yet to make any official announcements about following El Salvador in making Bitcoin legal tender or adding digital assets to its sovereign treasury reserves.
Sovereign Funds Coming For BTC?
The UAE and Qatar remain silent on their involvement with Bitcoin, serving only to intensify talk of nation-states embracing it at the sovereign level. This comes as U.S. BTC ETFs continue to show strong demand, as evidenced by the record-breaking capital inflows since opening in January.
Industry voices like Apollo co-founder Thomas Fahrer predicted the newly launched Bitcoin ETFs were just “the beginning,” and would act as a liquidity gateway to pull “higher pools of capital” in from pensions and sovereign wealth funds over time.
Others, such as X influencer Carsten, echoed Fahrer’s sentiment. Carsten believes sovereign funds will inevitably gravitate to Bitcoin to hedge against asset seizures stemming from geopolitical conflicts, and protection against potential future turmoil in the banking system.
On the Flipside
- Qatar and Bahrain were initially members of the group that became the UAE, but both nations opted to become independent states in 1971.
- Binance withdrew its Abu Dhabi exchange license application in December 2023, citing the reassessment of its global licensing needs.
- There are several UAE sovereign funds, the largest is the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority which is estimated to manage assets worth $943 billion.
Why This Matters
The rumor mill stemming from Bukele’s post hints at a potential paradigm shift in how the world’s resources are stored and exchanged on a sovereign level. Bitcoin going from a fringe asset to a state treasury would upend economic power dynamics. The possibility of oil-rich nations like the UAE diversifying into crypto would provide unprecedented legitimacy and price support for the world’s largest cryptocurrency.
Nayib Bukele turns the tables on Bitcoin critics as the market turns. Read more here:
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