US Senators Express Concerns About Bitcoin Adoption in El Salvador What’s Happening?

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Source: RawBeautyPixels/Adobe

El Salvador’s adoption of bitcoin as legal tender has sparked concern from US lawmakers, who are demanding a risk report on the potential impact on bilateral economic relations and law enforcement cooperation.

Last month, US Senators Jim Risch and Bob Menendez reintroduced a bipartisan bill calling for a State Department report on Bitcoin adoption in El Salvador.

The bill, dubbed the El Salvador Cryptocurrency Accountability Act (ACES), was originally introduced in February last year.

US lawmakers want an analysis of El Salvador’s adoption of bitcoin and the risks to cybersecurity, economic stability and democratic governance in the country.

In a Foreign Relations Committee blog post, Risch expressed concern about the implications of El Salvador’s decision to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender, saying it could weaken economic and financial stability. He added:

“Given the United States’ interest in prosperity and transparency in Central America, we must seek greater clarity on how the adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender may impact financial stability and El Salvador’s economy, as well as El Salvador’s ability to effectively combat money laundering and illicit finance.”

El Salvador continues to double down on its Bitcoin strategy

El Salvador made headlines in 2021 when it became the first country to make Bitcoin legal tender.

The country has since continued its bitcoin push, with President Nayib Bukele purchasing large amounts of cryptocurrency.

In mid-November, Bukele even announced that he would start buying one Bitcoin per day from November 18.

Currently, the country is estimated to have around 2,381 BTC, worth around $65 million, acquired at an average price of $43,357.

Bukele’s Bitcoin experiment has been hailed in the cryptocurrency world, but criticized by institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

More recently, El Salvador also welcomed Saifedean Ammous, eminent economist and author of “The Bitcoin Standard”, as an economic adviser to its National Bitcoin Office (ONBTC), an entity that manages all issues related to cryptocurrency. in the country.

The National Bitcoin Office of El Salvador was created by President Nayib Bukele at the end of 2022 in collaboration with well-known Bitcoiners Stacy Herbert and Max Keiser.

Meanwhile, reports on bitcoin adoption in the small Central American country have been mixed, with indications that it has been slow to take off.

According to government figures, crypto accounts for less than 2% of all remittances sent to El Salvador.

Remittances, mainly from Salvadorans based abroad, are a major source of income for the country.

In fact, for this same reason, the government has promised that BTC will provide more options and greater convenience for those who send and receive funds.

The country has even launched a dedicated BTC app, designed largely to facilitate BTC remittances from abroad. But data from last year showed only two in 10 people who originally downloaded the app were still using it.

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