US Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Mitigate Risks From El Salvador Adopting Bitcoin as Legal – A bill has been presented in the United States to reduce the risks of El Salvador adopting bitcoin as legal cash.
A US lawmaker stated, “El Salvador’s recognition of bitcoin as official currency opens the door for money laundering cartels and harms US interests.”
Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) have presented the “Accountability for Cryptocurrency in El Salvador Act,” or “ACES Act,” according to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.
According to the release, the proposed law mandates a report from the State Department on El Salvador’s use of bitcoin as legal money, as well as “a plan to manage possible threats to the US financial system.” The State Department report would examine El Salvador’s use of bitcoin as legal cash, as well as the implications for economic stability, cybersecurity, and democratic government.
Senator Risch had this to say:
The acceptance of bitcoin as legal cash in El Salvador raises serious worries about the country’s financial integrity and economic stability as a vulnerable US trading partner in Central America.
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“This new strategy has the potential to weaken US sanctions policy, giving malign countries like China and organized criminal organizations more leverage,” he continued. Our bipartisan bill wants more clarification on El Salvador’s policies and asks the administration to reduce any potential risk to the financial system in the United States.”
Senator Cassidy expressed his opinion as follows:
El Salvador’s use of bitcoin as legal tender opens the door to money laundering cartels and jeopardizes American interests.
El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, tweeted in response to the bill’s introduction:
Ok boomers… You have no authority over a sovereign and independent nation. We are not a colony, a back yard, or a front yard for you. Please don’t meddle in our internal matters. Don’t waste your time trying to manage something you can’t.
In September of last year, El Salvador made bitcoin legal tender alongside the US dollar. Since then, the country has purchased a total of 1,801 BTC.
US Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Mitigate Risks From El Salvador Adopting Bitcoin as Legal – El Salvador’s Bitcoin law has alarmed a number of countries, including the United States. Andrew Bailey, Governor of the Bank of England (BOE), expressed alarm about bitcoin being used as legal cash in El Salvador in November of last year.
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Likewise, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has encouraged the country to stop using bitcoin as legal cash on numerous occasions. The IMF claims that the costs of making Bitcoin legal tender outweigh the potential benefits.
El Salvador, on the other hand, sees no reason to change its Bitcoin laws. President Bukele has forecast that BTC will be used as legal tender in two more countries this year.
