My First Bitcoin ends El Salvador program, pivots to global BTC education

My First Bitcoin, the Bitcoin education program that started in El Salvador, just pulled the plug on its partnership with the country's Ministry of Education. They're going full global mode — shifting from local classes to worldwide Bitcoin education support.

This org educated over 27,000 students IRL about Bitcoin (mostly in El Salvador) and now plans to go global with open-source materials and training tools for educators worldwide.

In their Friday statement, they confirmed they're shutting down their physical office in El Salvador and going fully remote. Founder John Dennehy dropped this line: "Our ambition was always to change the world, but we had to start with a single student, then a single city, then a single nation and now we are ready to raise the potential impact from 6 million people to 8 billion."

My First Bitcoin launched in 2021 as an independent nonprofit by American activist/journalist John Dennehy, offering free Bitcoin education to Salvadorans. They partnered with El Salvador's Ministry of Education in 2023 to integrate their Bitcoin Diploma program into public schools by 2024.

Arnold Hubach, their communications director, told Cointelegraph the Ministry partnership ended in April 2025 "without any specific reason being shared with us." No replacement program is planned.

This shift comes as El Salvador rethinks its Bitcoin policies after securing a $1.4 billion IMF deal in December 2024. That agreement included commitments to unwind Bitcoin initiatives and limit BTC accumulation plans.

El Salvador made Bitcoin legal tender in September 2021 and started stacking 1 BTC per day shortly after. As part of the IMF deal, lawmakers amended the Bitcoin law in January to make BTC acceptance voluntary for businesses.

The IMF reported in July that El Salvador hasn't bought any new Bitcoin since signing the December deal. But here's the plot twist: The El Salvador Bitcoin Office's website still shows government holdings of 6,374 BTC worth about $654.8 million at current prices.