Americas/SV/Comparables
El Salvador
Comisión Nacional de Activos Digitales (CNAD)
Two live books. Bitcoin is legal tender on a voluntary-acceptance basis after the 2025 IMF-linked amendments; it is not a CIC. The 2023 Digital Assets Issuance Law created CNAD, a public-offering regime for other digital assets, issuer and DASP registration, and a public registry. That issuance law is the Rule 300 conversation. The Bitcoin Law is not.
Bitcoin Law
7 Sep 2021
DAIL
1 Feb 2023
Acceptance
Voluntary
From 2025 reforms
Similar regulation
The statute book
Primary instruments, with the RCA job each one actually does. Links open the official text.
- Amended
Legal tender for bitcoin — outside Rule 100’s investment-contract wrapping
- In force
Public offering of digital assets + DASP registration — Rule 300 cousin
Translation
Rule 100–500 map
| RCA | Peer | Fit | Desk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rule 100 CIC | Bitcoin as (voluntary) legal tender; other digital assets under DAIL | Inverse | A unit of legal tender is not a covered investment contract. Other tokens may be offerings under DAIL. |
| Rule 103 disclosure | CNAD issuance disclosure and offering documents | Analogue | Prescribed offering file. CNAD reports rejecting a large share of issuance applications. |
| Rule 200 $5M | None | No analogue | No dollar-capped startup exemption. |
| Rule 300 fundraising | CNAD-authorised public offering of digital assets | Analogue | The closest Latin American analogue to a public token offering regime. Merit filters are real. |
| Rule 400 safe harbor | None | No analogue | No deemed-cessation of an investment contract. |
| Rule 500 preemption | National CNAD perimeter | No analogue | No passport into the US. A CNAD registration is not NSMIA. |
Analysis
What the file is
El Salvador made bitcoin legal tender on 7 September 2021. The 2025 reforms, tied to an IMF programme, made private acceptance voluntary and pulled bitcoin out of tax-payment rails. The government still accumulates bitcoin. None of that is an offering exemption. The statute that actually looks like Regulation Crypto Assets is the 2023 Digital Assets Issuance Law: CNAD licences issuers and digital-asset service providers, reviews public offerings, and keeps a public registry (Bitfinex’s three-entity set is on it; so are other international brands).
Research
The record
- No capital-gains tax on bitcoin is a tax fact, not a securities-law fact. Do not file it as investor protection.
- Chivo is being wound down. State-wallet history is not a model for Rule 103 website hosting.
- CNAD is independent of the banking and securities commissions on purpose. That is the opposite of a Howey wrapping inside an existing Securities Act.
Ideation
What to file
- If you would run a DAIL offering instead of Rule 300, say so and at what size. That is the substitution exhibit for Section IV.
- Do not tell the Commission to ‘be like El Salvador’ without naming which statute. The Bitcoin Law and DAIL do different jobs.
Analysis
What the file is
El Salvador made bitcoin legal tender on 7 September 2021. The 2025 reforms, tied to an IMF programme, made private acceptance voluntary and pulled bitcoin out of tax-payment rails. The government still accumulates bitcoin. None of that is an offering exemption. The statute that actually looks like Regulation Crypto Assets is the 2023 Digital Assets Issuance Law: CNAD licences issuers and digital-asset service providers, reviews public offerings, and keeps a public registry (Bitfinex’s three-entity set is on it; so are other international brands).
Primary sources on file
Ley Bitcoin — Decreto Legislativo No. 57
Asamblea Legislativa de El Salvador/7 Sept 2021/RCA review 10 Sept 2026
Primary regulatory
Ley de Emisión de Activos Digitales (Digital Assets Issuance Law)
Asamblea Legislativa de El Salvador / CNAD/1 Feb 2023/RCA review 10 Sept 2026
Primary regulatory
RCA publishes source-linked intelligence for professionals. Nothing here is a token-buying call, a legal opinion, or an “approved / safe / regulated” badge. Every material claim is dated. Incomplete files stay incomplete.