Many Chilean lawmakers are currently seeking legislation to establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR), according to information shared by the country’s mining lobbyist Andrés Villagrán. Outlining his progress with X, Villagrán explained that he had been meeting with several officials to advocate for the potential economic benefits of BTC.
Chile’s Path To Bitcoin Adoption
“In 2023, I started an amazing journey with Bitcoin! I have had meetings with more than 20 parliaments and several ministers explaining the benefits of Bitcoin to Chile and its people,” wrote Villagrán, adding that his reach will increase significantly in mid-2024.
Villagrán’s efforts have been supported by Dennis Porter, CEO of the US non-profit Satoshi Act Fund, and Simon Collins, CEO of Stackr—both of whom bring prior experience in introducing legislation and promoting sustainable mining practices. BTC. Answer from Villagrán:
“At the beginning of 2024, I started meetings with many representatives of this piece of land in Chile. […] In the middle of 2024, I met Simon Collins and Dennis Porter, with whom I established a collaboration since both of them went on the same path before (Dennis and Satoshi Act Fund have already presented 30 bills). So I invited them to Chile to present useful information based on documents to the members of parliament and the government of Chile.”
In November 2024, the team presented the concept of a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve to government representatives, including members of the administration of President Gabriel Boric, Deputy Andrés Giordano (Frente Amplio), and Deputy Juan Santana (Social Movement). Their discussions concerned the precedents set by similar proposals in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Texas within the United States, which were led by Porter.
Additionally, Deputy Gael Yeomans—affiliated with the Social Convergence group, which is part of the left-wing ruling party Frente Amplio—proposed the creation of a “Bitcoin Bench,” or Bancada Bitcoin, tasked with conducting extensive research, evaluating international laws, and drafting. related debts.
Villagrán praised this move, saying: “Deputy Gael Yeomans proposed to create a Bitcoin Bench (Bancada Bitcoin) … Personally, I believe it would be good for this Bitcoin Bench to go from left to right.”
Despite this situation, the push for a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve may face headwinds from the Central Bank of Chile, which has historically expressed skepticism about BTC as a national reserve asset. In December of last year, the central bank rejected this idea, citing regulatory obstacles and the IMF’s standards for assets, namely safety, liquidity, and reliability.
Despite the central bank’s reservations, Villagrán remains optimistic, saying more talks with the Ministry of Finance, as well as senators and deputies from across the political spectrum, are planned for 2025:
“I want to make it clear, in 2025 we will have meetings with the Ministry of Finance to introduce especially the SBR, together with all the Senators and Deputies, so that it will be one of the first countries where Bitcoin is an important part of the country’s economy.”
Notably, during a live stream with Porter, Villagrán highlighted that Chilean law allows the Central Bank to hold Bitcoin. He also mentioned plans to negotiate with the bank at the end of the year.
If Chile’s proposal gains momentum, the country would be the second in Latin America to test such a measure recently. In November of last year, Brazilian lawmakers introduced a plan to allocate 5% of Brazil’s capital to BTC, aimed at protecting against economic uncertainty.
At press time, BTC traded at $99,260.
The featured image was created with DALL.E, a chart from TradingView.com