Bitcoin adviser Keiser guides El Salvador bonds
Max Keiser, a financial broadcaster turned bitcoin advocate, now advises El Salvador’s government on a $1 billion bitcoin-backed bond. President Nayib Bukele proposed the bond to fund a planned “bitcoin city” and geothermal-powered mining operations. Half the proceeds would buy bitcoin, betting on its long-term value.
The man behind the bitcoin rhetoric
Keiser describes bitcoin in sweeping terms. On his show, The Keiser Report, which airs on Russian state-owned RT, he called it “unconfiscatable wealth” and predicted it would replace traditional currencies. His Twitter bio once read “Bitcoin Maximalist” but now labels him a “Bitcoin Ambassador.”
His career has taken many turns. Born in Westchester, New York, Keiser began in theater and comedy before becoming a stockbroker in the 1980s. He co-founded the Hollywood Stock Exchange, a virtual market for celebrity shares, and later launched Karmabanque, a hedge fund that shorted companies facing public relations crises. His media work includes appearances on Al-Jazeera, BBC News, and Iran’s Press TV, where he hosted On the Edge.
He shifted focus to bitcoin around 2013. He interviewed former British MP George Galloway about using the cryptocurrency to boost London’s economy and later created his own coins, MaxCoin and StartCoin. By the mid-2010s, he openly criticized traditional finance, calling JPMorgan “the biggest financial terrorist on Wall Street.” The bank’s CEO, Jamie Dimon, had dismissed bitcoin as “fool’s gold.”
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His ties to El Salvador’s government developed quickly. Last year, he suggested the possibility of using bitcoin-backed bonds to shore up the country’s finances. Earlier this month, he arrived in El Salvador with his wife, fellow journalist Stacy Herbert, and met with Minister of Finance Alejandro Zelaya.
A bond built on volatility
The bond faces doubts. Bitcoin’s price has fluctuated sharply, dropping nearly 50% from its November high. El Salvador became the first country in the world to make bitcoin legal tender in June. The government highlights increased tourism and remittances, but critics say the move has not reduced poverty or economic instability.
Success depends on factors outside Keiser’s influence. The bond’s structure, with half allocated to direct bitcoin purchases, relies on a speculative asset for returns. If the cryptocurrency’s value stagnates or declines, investors could lose money, and El Salvador’s finances would suffer further.
Keiser frames his advocacy as a challenge to the “fiat money system.” He argues bitcoin offers financial independence to nations overlooked by global institutions. Whether El Salvador’s experiment succeeds may hinge less on his arguments and more on market behavior.
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Politics and cryptocurrency collide
El Salvador’s bitcoin push occurs amid democratic concerns. Bukele has centralized power since taking office in 2019, replacing the top prosecutor and five Supreme Court justices with allies. The U.S. State Department has named several of Bukele’s allies as corrupt Central American officials. Keiser has ignored questions about the president’s authoritarian tendencies, focusing instead on bitcoin’s economic potential. In a 2021 interview, he called Bukele “the most competent leader in the world today.”
Critics warn the bitcoin bond could worsen El Salvador’s reliance on a volatile asset without addressing corruption or inequality. Others view it as a risky bet that might secure Bukele’s legacy or harm the country. Keiser’s exact role remains unclear, but his influence is evident.
A correction notes Keiser is not an official ambassador. His wife, Stacy Herbert, said the “Bitcoin Ambassador” title is self-assigned. His meetings with officials suggest unusual access, though what it achieves beyond attention is uncertain.
