United States encourages El Salvador to regulate the use of bitcoin

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Issued on: 07/01/2021 – 06:46 Modified: 07/01/2021 – 06:44

San Salvador (AFP)

A senior US State Department official met with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele on Wednesday and recommended regulation of bitcoin once it becomes legal tender in the Central American country from September.

El Salvador uses the US dollar as its official currency, but on June 9 it approved the adoption of bitcoin as legal tender. It intends to use cryptocurrency for all transactions, making it the first country to do so.

“I suggested to the president that whatever El Salvador chooses to do, you make sure that it is well regulated, that it is transparent and that it is accountable, and that you protect yourself from malicious actors,” he said. said Victoria Nuland, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs.

Nuland said he told Bukele that the United States was taking “another hard look at bitcoin” after the Colonial Pipeline cyberattack.

This May attack forced the temporary halt of operations at Colonial, which transports approximately 45% of the fuel consumed on the east coast of the United States. The company agreed to pay the hackers a bitcoin ransom worth $ 4.4 million.

The Salvadoran government recently discussed its bitcoin decision with the International Monetary Fund, a meeting that Finance Minister Alejandro Zelaya said was productive.

The World Bank, however, rejected a request for assistance from El Salvador in its attempt to adopt bitcoin as the official currency.

AFP 2021

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