El Salvador is once again in the spotlight. The state, which was the first in the world to legalize bitcoin as a legal tender, now goes further – it allows investment banks to deal with cryptocurrencies. The new law gives the green light to financial institutions not only to store digital assets, but also to provide crypto services to their customers.

The essence of the innovation is quite simple: banks that are lucky enough to obtain a digital asset Service provider (PSAD) license are given complete freedom of action in transactions with bitcoin and other digital assets. They will be able not only to keep cryptocurrency in their accounts, but also to develop a full-fledged business on this basis.

According to Juan Carlos Reyes, head of the Digital Assets Commission (CNAD), these institutions will be able to operate almost like specialized bitcoin banks. However, access to their services will be severely limited. The clients of such banks will not be ordinary citizens of El Salvador, but "qualified investors", something like accredited market participants in the United States, that is, players with large capital and willingness to take risks.

The authorities of El Salvador openly declare their big plans. They hope that allowing investment banks to work with bitcoin will be a strong incentive for international capital inflows. This, in their opinion, will turn El Salvador not just into the country that was the first to legalize bitcoin, but into a major regional center of crypto finance. Supporters of the idea believe that the new rules will attract foreign investment, improve the country's image in the world and open up new high-paying jobs in the field of high technology.

But not everyone shares this optimism. Critics point out that while ordinary people, for whom the whole bitcoin story seemed to begin, have not felt any improvements in their lives (prices were in dollars, and they remained, and the instability of bitcoin is rather scary), the main benefits of the new banking rules will go to the state and large companies. who can afford to operate with large amounts.

It turns out that the Salvadoran experiment with bitcoin is turning into a serious financial strategy. By allowing investment banks to work with cryptocurrency, the country is betting on attracting a lot of money from abroad and creating a unique digital economy. Time will tell whether they will be able to build a "crypto Singapore" in Central America, or whether this ambitious project will remain interesting only for the rich and influential. But one thing is clear: El Salvador continues to move along its chosen path, and the next step may surprise the whole world.