El Salvador banks may provide crypto services to institutions
The Salvadoran Assembly has approved a new law that will allow large financial institutions to apply for licenses to provide financial services in bitcoin and other digital assets.
According to the document, financial institutions with capital of at least $50 million will qualify as investment banks, which are regulated differently from regular commercial banks. They will be able to obtain different licenses to offer financial instruments related to cryptocurrencies, including BTC, to investors with liquid assets worth more than $250,000.
The institutional architecture of the Salvadoran financial system will be expanded through the creation of a new, but regulated and supervised entity that complements the traditional banking system with which we are all familiar, said MP Dania González.
The move highlights a shift in focus from retail investors to large institutional capital. This is partly due to the low level of bitcoin adoption among Salvadorans — only 1% of remittances are made in the cryptocurrency, and only two in XNUMX Salvadorans use it.
Interestingly, in early 2025, the country dropped the requirement for businesses to accept Bitcoin as payment in order to receive a $1,4 billion loan from the IMF.
Despite this, President Nayib Bukele claims that the state continues to buy 1 BTC per day.
