Due to its steadfast adoption of Bitcoin, the country of El Salvador has been the recipient of much criticism from the International Monetary Fund and the recipient of much praise from Bitcoin and crypto enthusiasts.
It seems that U.S. Senate members have joined the list of critics concerned with El Savador’s embracing and adoption of Bitcoin as a currency. United States Senators Jim Risch and Bob Menendez have reintroduced a bipartisan bill seeking a State Department report on El Salvador’s Bitcoin adoption efforts and progress.
The ACES bill or Accountability for Cryptocurrency in El Salvador Act aids American lawmakers in the analysis of El Salvador’s adoption of Bitcoin, cybersecurity risks, economic stability, and democratic governance in the country.
The concern stemming from Senator Risch is that El Salvador adopting Bitcoin as legal tender could be the catalyst to weaken El Salvador’s economic structure and monetary stance. Risch also believes there may be concern for El Salvador’s ability to defend against money laundering as well as unlawful finances.
Despite scrutiny from the IMF, the World Bank and U.S. Senate members, El Salvador continues to HODL and adopt Bitcoin while “stacking Satoshis” or steadily increasing its Bitcoin holdings as of November 18, 2022 at the rate of “1 Bitcoin per day” according to El Salvador President Nayib Bukele. Despite El Salvador’s welcoming stance on Bitcoin adoption and use, remittances using Bitcoin and cryptocurrency only make up for about 1.6% of the country's incoming remittance transactions according to Central Reserve Bank data.
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