El Salvador's National Bitcoin (BTC) Office launched Bitcoin Diploma 2.0 this week, a revamped curriculum set for implementation across the country's public school system in 2026.
The initiative comes roughly a year after El Salvador formally revoked Bitcoin's legal tender status on Feb. 6, 2025, under conditions attached to a $1.4 billion IMF loan.
The first printed copies are already in distribution, according to local newspaper Diario El Salvador, with new learning facilities being opened in towns including Panchimalco, and Apopa next.
What the Program Covers
Bitcoin Diploma 2.0 builds on the earlier "What Is Money?" curriculum and places greater emphasis on visual tools - animations and real-world case studies - to explain Bitcoin and broader financial concepts to young Salvadorans.
The program was developed with weSpark, an educational solutions firm active in the Bitcoin ecosystem.
Stacy Herbert, director of the National Bitcoin Office, described the initiative as one of the first comprehensive monetary and financial education programs applied at a national level.
The program covers staking, Lightning Network basics, and governance participation.
The Regulatory Backdrop
El Salvador's Bitcoin ambitions have faced compounding constraints. Bitcoin usage among Salvadorans declined from 25.7% in 2021 to 8.1% by 2024, and by the time legal tender status was revoked, 92% of Salvadorans were not using Bitcoin for transactions.
The IMF agreement requires the public sector to stop accumulating Bitcoin and restricts government participation in Bitcoin-related economic activities.
The government holds approximately 7,519 BTC in a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve - accumulated before and during the IMF constraint period - worth roughly $490 million at current prices near $65,000. IMF Western Hemisphere Director Rodrigo Valdés confirmed in April 2025 that El Salvador was in compliance with the non-accumulation criteria.
The education program, unlike reserve accumulation, does not appear to fall within the IMF's restrictions. Whether classroom instruction translates to broader public adoption - where four years of legal tender status failed to move the needle - remains an open question.
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