The United States is making strides in digital asset regulation, following a path similar to that of El Salvador, according to Michele Crivelli, founder of NexBridge, a firm focused on real-world asset tokenization. In a recent interview with Cointelegraph, Crivelli highlighted the importance of having an independent regulatory body for crypto and praised the US for taking key steps in this direction through the creation of the newly commissioned Working Group on Digital Asset Markets.
“The United States is doing something that El Salvador did in 2021,” Crivelli said. “They created a special commission to study how to implement a legal framework for crypto, just like El Salvador did with the National Commission of Digital Assets.”
Crivelli’s comments underscore the growing global trend toward formalizing and regulating the cryptocurrency space. By establishing a dedicated body to explore crypto legislation, the US is following a model that smaller nations like El Salvador are pioneering, despite facing larger risks in the process.
Crivelli further emphasized that smaller countries with fewer economic risks, such as El Salvador, are positioned to be the pioneers in global digital asset adoption. These nations, he believes, will lead the charge in shaping the future of the digital economy—eventually drawing in larger players like the US once the momentum toward digital assets becomes undeniable.
This sentiment was echoed by prominent asset manager Anthony Pompliano, who pointed out the growing trend of nations like El Salvador and Bhutan gradually accumulating Bitcoin (BTC) as an indication of the global race for BTC’s dominance.
El Salvador’s experiment with Bitcoin continues to make headlines. In January 2025, the country officially repealed its controversial Bitcoin legal tender law as part of a loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This move came after months of pressure from the IMF, which had urged El Salvador to roll back its Bitcoin policies in exchange for securing a much-needed loan.
While Bitcoin maximalists criticized the repeal of the law—which required businesses to accept BTC as payment—El Salvador has not abandoned its crypto ambitions entirely. Despite rolling back the law, the country continues to add to its Bitcoin reserves, signaling its ongoing commitment to the cryptocurrency.
As more nations explore the legal and regulatory frameworks for crypto, the actions of El Salvador and the US are emblematic of a global shift toward the digital economy. Smaller nations are already experimenting with the long-term benefits and risks of crypto, and it seems inevitable that larger economies will follow suit as the digital landscape becomes more established.
For now, El Salvador’s continued Bitcoin accumulation and the US’s growing regulatory efforts highlight the pivotal role digital assets will play in shaping the future of global finance. As these two countries move forward with their respective strategies, the world watches closely to see who will lead the way in this emerging new financial era.
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