Brazilian presidential hopeful calls for launch of national Bitcoin reserve

An outspoken Brazilian political activist and presidential hopeful says Brazil needs a strategic Bitcoin reserve.

The comments came from Renan Santos, the founder of Partido Missão, or Mission Party. Santos is also a co-founder of the right-wing Free Brazil Movement, and says he takes inspiration from the Bitcoin advocate and El Salvador president Nayib Bukele.

“A national Bitcoin reserve is a feasible proposal,” Santos said during a podcast interview. “Some countries are already starting to do it. El Salvador has done it. I think we can start building a reserve in Bitcoin.”

Voices urging Brazil to include Bitcoin in treasury reserves have grown louder in recent months, with some lawmakers backing the move. Last year, the Brazilian parliament hosted a public hearing on strategic Bitcoin reserve adoption.

This was sparked by a draft bill tabled by the pro-crypto lawmaker Eros Biondini in November 2024. Biondini’s bill called for the treasury to start buying Bitcoin and other “secure” cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin manifesto pledges

“I don’t think it’s crazy to talk about a national Bitcoin reserve,” Santos said. “It’s an important topic.”

Santos added that his draft election manifesto already contains Bitcoin-related pledges.

Brazil will go to the polls on October 4 to elect its president, vice president, and National Congress lawmakers.

Santos says his party was launched to oppose the two early frontrunners: incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Flávio Bolsonaro, the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro.

Santos founded Missão in 2023, and successfully registered it as an official political party in November.

He has repeatedly advocated following Bukele’s example, calling for Brazil to follow the Salvadoran’s economic and anti-crime policies.

Blockchain hopes

The politician added that he “trusts” blockchain technology, Brazilian media outlet Livecoins reported. He said the public sector could use the technology to fight corruption.

Santos called blockchain technology a “cool tool” that will “make the embezzlement of money become much more difficult.”

The politician has courted controversy this year, calling for Brazil to develop nuclear weapons as a response to the US capture of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro.

“Sovereignty does not come from rhetoric,” he told the Brazilian media outlet Diário do Poder. “Sovereignty is built with strength, with the power of deterrence, and with the capacity for defense. Brazil needs to stop acting like a naive country in an increasingly hostile world.”

The Brazilian private sector is also becoming more bullish about Bitcoin. Last month, an analyst at the country’s biggest bank advised savers to invest 1% to 3% of their money in Bitcoin or Bitcoin exchange-traded funds.

Tim Alper is a News Correspondent at DL News. Got a tip? Email at tdalper@dlnews.com.