El Salvador Passes Law to Review Bitcoin Adoption

El Salvador’s legislative assembly has approved a bill to amend the country’s bitcoin adoption strategy, in response to the requirements of a $1.4 billion deal with the International Monetary Fund.

According to Reuters, 55 deputies voted in favor of the bill, with two against, shortly after it was sent by President Nayib Bukele.

The new law changes the private sector’s stance on accepting bitcoin from mandatory to voluntary.

Last month, El Salvador struck a deal with the International Monetary Fund that includes a loan to support economic reforms and address the balance of payments, with the fund expected to provide up to $3.5 billion over 40 months.

The IMF required El Salvador to limit some bitcoin-related activities, including making its use in the private sector optional.

It also stressed in an earlier statement that the deal includes enhancing transparency and oversight of digital assets to ensure financial stability and protect consumers and investors.

El Salvador became the first country to adopt bitcoin as legal tender in 2021 to promote financial inclusion, and the government holds 6,049 bitcoins, worth an estimated $636 million, according to Arkham Intelligence. But Bukele acknowledged in August that bitcoin adoption had been slower than expected, reflecting mixed results from the experiment so far.

Posted using Tribaldex Blog