Multiple Chilean lawmakers are currently pushing for laws that will establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR), in line with details shared by nation-state mining lobbyist Andrés Villagrán. Revealing his progress via X, Villagrán explained that he has been meeting with quite a few officials to advocate for BTC’s potential economic advantages.
Chile’s Path To Bitcoin Adoption
“In 2023, I launched into an incredible journey with Bitcoin! I’ve had meetings with over 20 parliamentarians and several other ministers explaining the advantages of Bitcoin to Chile and its people,” wrote Villagrán, adding that his outreach intensified further in mid-2024.
Villagrán’s efforts have been supported by Dennis Porter, CEO of the US nonprofit Satoshi Act Fund, and Simon Collins, CEO of Stackr—each of whom bring prior experience introducing laws and promoting sustainable BTC mining practices. In keeping with Villagrán:
“Initially of 2024, I started meetings with many deputies from this long and narrow strip of land that’s Chile […] In mid-2024, I met Simon Collins and Dennis Porter, with whom I established a collaboration as they’d each walked this same path before (Dennis with Satoshi Act Fund has already introduced 30 bills). So I invited them to Chile to present empirical information backed by papers to parliamentarians and the Chilean government.”
During 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 (Socialist Party). Their discussions touched on precedents set by similar proposals in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Texas inside america, which were led by Porter.
Moreover, Deputy Gael Yeomans—aligned with the Social Convergence party, a part of the ruling left-leaning Frente Amplio coalition—proposed forming a “Bitcoin Bench,” or Bancada Bitcoin, tasked with conducting in-depth research, examining international laws, and drafting related bills.
Villagrán praised the initiative, stating: “Deputy Gael Yeomans proposed making a Bitcoin Bench (Bancada Bitcoin) … Personally, I feel it will be ideal for this Bitcoin Bench to be from left to right.”
Despite this momentum, the push for a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve could face headwinds from the Central Bank of Chile, which has historically expressed skepticism regarding BTC as a national reserve asset. In December of the previous yr, the central bank rejected the concept, citing regulatory hurdles and IMF standards for reserve assets, namely security, liquidity, and reliability.
Notwithstanding the central bank’s reservations, Villagrán stays optimistic, stating that additional conversations with the Ministry of Finance, in addition to senators and deputies from across the political spectrum, are planned for 2025:
“I have the desire to make it clear, in 2025 we can have meetings with the Ministry of Finance to present specifically the SBR, as well with ALL Senators and Deputies, in order that might be one in all the primary countries where Bitcoin is a necessary a part of the country’s economy.”
Notably, during a livestream with Porter, Villagrán highlighted that Chilean law permits the Central Bank to carry Bitcoin. He also mentioned plans to interact in discussions with the bank later this yr.
If the Chilean proposal gains traction, the country would grow to be the second in Latin America to recently explore such a measure. In November of last yr, Brazilian lawmakers introduced a plan to allocate 5% of Brazil’s foreign reserves into BTC, aiming to safeguard against economic uncertainties.
At press time, BTC traded at $99,260.
Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com