El Salvador Launches First Bitcoin Education Program of Its Kind

El Salvador continues to solidify its case as a global Bitcoin leader by rolling out a Bitcoin diploma course in its public high schools. This initiative, which kicked off at the Instituto Nacional José María Peralta Lagos in Quezaltepeque, is a major milestone in the country’s mission to build a Bitcoin-savvy workforce.

The program spearheaded by Salvadoran educator @PupusasG, with support from the Bitcoin Office and the Salvadorian Ministry of Education, will guide over 280 students through an intensive Bitcoin curriculum, culminating in graduation on April 21st.

El Salvador Embracing Bitcoin Education

Since declaring Bitcoin legal tender in 2021, El Salvador has pursued a strategy of integrating cryptocurrency as much as possible into its economy.

Over the course of 5 years since adopting Bitcoin as an official currency, the country has built an impressive $630 million Bitcoin reserve and developed one of the world’s most advanced crypto regulatory frameworks.

The country has succeeded in attracting major crypto firms like Tether and Bitfinex with its forward thinking cryptocurrency initiatives. However, Stacy Herbert, Director of El Salvador’s Bitcoin Office, believes that education is the most transformative initiative yet.

“Bitcoin country needs Bitcoin engineers, we’re producing them, and it’s a long manufacturing process, but it’s creating a wonderful positive feedback loop. They graduate, they get jobs, and a tech vibe is emerging in San Salvador,” he said in an interview.

From High Schools to High-Paying Jobs

The Bitcoin diploma program is just one part of El Salvador’s broader Bitcoin educational push. The government has also expanded Bitcoin courses nationwide after a successful launch in five schools.

Additionally, the country also introduced hands-on training with Bitcoin nodes, Lightning Network, and ASIC mining hardware called Node Nation. The initiative was aimed at teaching students how to run a Bitcoin node and a Lightning Network node and also how to operate Bitcoin mining equipment. If completed successfully, Node Nation students could join the Cubo+ program to strengthen their technical skills.

CUBO+ is an intensive Bitcoin bootcamp launched in May 2023 that offers university credits by teaching young talented Salvadorians the advanced details of the Bitcoin industry.

These initiatives are paying up for the country’s investments. Graduates from the first CUBO+ cohort are earning up to $4,000 per month. This is far above the $600 average starting salary for computer science graduates in El Salvador. This proves that the country stands to benefit an enormous lot from investing in the future of its young workforce.