From Murder Capital to Bitcoin Capital
Network State Conference 2025 · 3 Oct 2025 · 2:44
Stacy Herbert, director of El Salvador's National Bitcoin Office, describes how adopting Bitcoin as legal tender turned the country's image from murder capital to Bitcoin country and how it is now building capital markets on Bitcoin. In a short interview she outlines zero-tax industries, easier pathways to citizenship, a 13-page AI regulatory framework and 180-day tourist stays for builders, at Network State Conference 2025.
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From Network State Conference 2025, hosted by Network School.
Transcript
Stacy, welcome to New York State Conference. Tell me a little bit about El Salvador and then yourself and your position there. >> I am the director of the National Bitcoin Office of El Salvador. And the remarkable thing about El Salvador is everybody knows El Salvador is Bitcoin country. Right now before that, if you had Googled El Salvador, all you came up with was El Salvador is homicide capital of the world. After Bitcoin became legal tender, El Salvador is Bitcoin country. This is one of the greatest rebrands in history, if not the greatest, to go from murder capital of the world to Bitcoin country.
>> It's actually crazy. From Murder Capital to Bitcoin Capital. How's that? >> Well, we're building capital markets on Bitcoin. That's what I knew we could do. We already had the brand. So, let's build the capital markets because you can't become a global economic powerhouse without capital. We have a competitive advantage with Bitcoin. Even Wall Street is now piling on. Remember when we first adopted Bitcoin as legal tender, there was so much blowback from the global powers. President Blly had the vision and he knew we were building something. He stuck with it.
>> What is El Salvador doing to attract global digital nomads and tech startups? >> We are introducing 0% tax for industries that they would build in. We have a very responsive, fast acting government that can respond to their needs very quickly. We are introducing easy pathways to citizenship. Are there any other countries that are inspired by what the president bell is doing? >> The Boulli model on security has swept Latin America that discipline is lacking in so many countries. El Salvador has a disciplined model and a trailblazing pioneering brand and reputation like our regulatory framework for example with AI is super streamlined. The law is simple.
The regulations to accompany the law are just 13 pages. So I know for a fact that our tech framework is inspiring other countries. >> This is now a place where people who are into startup societies into network state should come and visit El Salvador build in El Salvador. Would you agree that >> it is so easy to come there when you arrive you could stay for 180 days. That's the tourist visa. It's like you just show up and you stay for 180 days. The thing about El Salvador is there is a huge sense of optimism and you can't underestimate how that feels as a builder. If you want to build and everybody around you is depressed and things are getting worse for them, it's not a great environment to build in. But in El Salvador, everybody is happy.
>> Anything else to know about El Salvador? >> In Bitcoin, we have that phrase, don't trust verify. And you really must come and verify for yourself. You have to come see it for yourself. Thank you very much, Stacey, for appearing at the Never State Conference.