Trump and Bukele: The Trade Tango That Left Bitcoin in the Dust! 💃🕺

In a curious twist of fate, the illustrious President of the United States, Donald Trump, found himself hosting the enigmatic Nayib Bukele, the President of El Salvador, at the grandiose White House on the fateful day of April 14. The agenda? A riveting discussion on trade and immigration, while Bitcoin, that elusive digital darling, was left sulking in the corner, perhaps contemplating its existence.

As the two leaders exchanged pleasantries, the pressing matters of migration and bilateral security cooperation took center stage, overshadowing Bukele’s inaugural visit during Trump’s second term. It was a meeting that could have been scripted by a playwright with a penchant for the absurd.

In a moment that could only be described as surreal, Trump, with a twinkle in his eye, proposed the audacious idea of transferring US citizens convicted of crimes to the sunny shores of El Salvador. “I said homegrowns are next, the homegrowns. You gotta build about five more places,” he quipped, as if discussing the latest real estate venture rather than the expansion of a prison system. 🏗️

Since the dawn of his administration, Trump has been busy deporting hundreds of alleged foreign criminals to El Salvador, all under the auspices of a $6 million deal that sounds more like a bargain bin sale than a diplomatic agreement.

As the meeting meandered on, Trump, ever the businessman, addressed the ongoing trade war that he himself had unleashed upon the world. He suggested a potential temporary exemption for automakers, as if waving a magic wand to ease their supply chain woes. “I’m looking at something to help some of the car companies with it,” he declared, while the auto industry collectively sighed, “We need a little bit of time!” ⏳

Strangely absent from this grand discussion was any mention of digital assets or Bitcoin (BTC) policy, a curious oversight for two leaders who had previously championed the cryptocurrency. El Salvador had boldly adopted Bitcoin as legal tender in 2021, paving the way for a strategic reserve that Trump would later follow, like a shadow in the night.

In a twist of irony, Trump had positioned himself as a pro-crypto candidate during the 2024 election, signing an executive order to create a Bitcoin strategic reserve and digital asset stockpile in the United States. The US now holds nearly 198,000 BTC, valued at over $17 billion, primarily amassed from the spoils of criminal and civil cases, including the infamous Silk Road and Bitfinex hack. 💰

El Salvador’s BTC plans face IMF opposition

In a plot twist worthy of a novel, El Salvador signed a $1.4 billion loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in December, which included commitments to unwind Bitcoin-related initiatives. The Salvadoran Congress, in a fit of compliance, amended its Bitcoin laws in January, yet the government continued its daily purchases of BTC, as if defying the very forces that sought to restrain it. The National Bitcoin Office’s tracker now shows a staggering 6,147.18 BTC, worth about $520.7 million at this very moment. 📈

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2025-04-15 01:24