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Highlights
- El Salvador has dismissed the IMF’s call to drop Bitcoin’s legal status.
- Its Finance Minister says El Salvador has complied with all the rules related to financial transactions and money laundering.
- Negations for funds worth US$1.3 billion with the IMF are being continued.
Even as the International Monitory Fund (IMF) has urged El Salvador to strip Bitcoin’s legal status, the country’s government has defended its adoption of the world’s most popular crypto as legal tender and has dismissed the IMF’s suggestion on the same.
Related Read: Why does IMF want El Salvador to withdraw Bitcoin as legal tender?
El Salvador snubs IMF’s suggestion, says yes to Bitcoin use
Alejandro Zelaya, El Salvador's Finance Minister, has stated that no international organisation could make the country do anything it wanted. The minister further said countries being sovereign nations take sovereign decisions about their public policies, adding that the usage of Bitcoin was an issue of sovereignty.
Source:© Pertusinas | Megapixl.com
Compliance with all the rules related to financial transactions, cites Minister
Further, he mentioned that the Central American country had acted in accordance with all the rules related to financial transactions and money laundering.
Moreover, the IMF has never asked the country to ditch Bitcoin as the country’s legal tender, cites the Minister.
It is pointed out that a week ago, IMF had warned the country of the large risks associated with Bitcoin’s volatility and its adverse impact on the country’s financial stability and integrity, as well as citizens’ welfare.
Must Read: Will Russia’s crypto ban proposal affect its IT sector and high-tech economy?
Plans to issue Bitcoin bond next month
Meanwhile, in order to clear its debts, the Central American country continues its negotiations for funds worth US$1.3 billion with the IMF.
Also, the country is planning to issue Bitcoin bonds in March. All the possible risks pertaining to it have been evaluated, and efforts are being made to minimise them, the minister informed.
Also Read: Now, El Salvador plans to issue Bitcoin bonds to build city infra
AlphaPoint to now become the tech provider for El Salvador’s Chivo wallet
In another news, El Salvador’s government has announced that AlphaPoint, an American company, would support its Chivo wallet, the first national digital wallet in the world.
The crypto software firm will support the wallet’s frontend and backend infrastructure and help in integrating the entire ecosystem like the mobile app, mobile POS processing, call centre support software, etc.
Bottom Line
Many nations and international organisations are wary of the widespread cryptocurrency usage owing to its volatile nature and increased use in illegal activities.
A Quick Read: Crypto Catch: Bank of England says bitcoin potentially “worthless”
