El Salvador President has a better grasp of Bitcoin than 99% of Bitcoiners

Excerpts from Nayib Bukele's Interview with McCormack

(When he first came across Bitcoin) I thought it was very smart. But a lot of good ideas just vanish. Bitcoin just keeps growing and growing, not only in price.

At the beginning, I thought Bitcoin was beautiful and now I'm even more convinced about it since it has withstood the pressure of time and changes in global political landscapes, social media exploding... you have all these changes but Bitcoin has not only persisted but its impact keeps growing.

It is not just a very good idea anymore. At the beginning it was interesting. Now it's a reality.

(On volatility) Measuring Bitcoin against dollars kind of defeats the point of Bitcoin. (1 BTC = 1 BTC)

(On why people should trust him) They don't need to trust me. It would be nice (to be trusted) but they don't have to. That's the purpose of Bitcoin. You don't need to trust anybody. It's a free, open and transparent monetary system.

(On classical economists attacking Bitcoin) Of course, classical economists don't like it. It's not that they don't understand but they don't want to understand it. It would mean all of their preconceptions, their theses, their works, their books would be meaningless because they were wrong.

Imagine someone who has been attacking Bitcoin for over a decade and now to see it succeed would be very hard for them.

(About World Bank not helping) We don't need them. Way before we announced our plan to make Bitcoin legal tender, we have had amazing talent from overseas working tirelessly to make this happen. They are not here for money, but idealists who want to make a difference, to make the lives of the people better who need it most.

(About IMF concern) We adopted the dollar in 2001. This is no different. The only difference is we adopted the dollar for the benefit of our banks. This is for the benefit of our people.