Vera Bergengruen, a Time magazine reporter, said El Salvador's president, Nayib Bukele, had pushed for bitcoin to become a legal tender primarily for public relations rather than real economic improvement. Bukele's advisers called the introduction of bitcoin "a great rebranding" aimed at changing perceptions of El Salvador. Since the announcement of bitcoin legalization in 2021, the policy has caused confusion, forcing Bukele's team to promote the potential benefits of bitcoin. Bukele, who will remain president until 2029, has proposed a volcano-powered "bitcoin city", but the project has not yet been completed. He has also regularly discussed using state funds to buy bitcoin, which currently has about $400 million in the "public purse".