El Salvador angrily rejects IMF call to drop Bitcoin use... What do you think about it, if you were the president of El Salvador, what would be your position?
The government of El Salvador on Monday rejected a recommendation by the International Monetary Fund to drop Bitcoin as legal tender in the Central American country.
Treasury Minister Alejandro Zelaya angrily said that “no international organization is going to make us do anything, anything at all.”
Zelaya told a local television station that Bitcoin is an issue of “sovereignty.”
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“Countries are sovereign nations and they take sovereign decisions about public policy,” he said.
The IMF recommended last week that El Salvador dissolve the US$150 million trust fund it created when it made the cryptocurrency legal tender and return any of those unused funds to its treasury.
The agency cited concerns about the volatility of Bitcoin prices, and the possibility of criminals using the cryptocurrency. After nearly doubling in value late last year, Bitcoin has plunged in value.
Zelaya said El Salvador has complied with all financial transaction and money laundering rules.
The trust fund was intended to allow the automatic conversion of Bitcoin to U.S. dollars - El Salvador's other currency - to encourage people wary of adopting the highly volatile digital currency.
The IMF also recommended eliminating the offer of US$30 as an incentive for people to start using the digital wallet “Chivo” and increasing regulation of the digital wallet to protect consumers. It suggested there could be benefits to the use of Chivo, but only using dollars, not Bitcoin.
El Salvador angrily rejects IMF call to drop Bitcoin use... What do you think about it, if you were the president of El Salvador, what would be your position?
The government of El Salvador on Monday rejected a recommendation by the International Monetary Fund to drop Bitcoin as legal tender in the Central American country.
Treasury Minister Alejandro Zelaya angrily said that “no international organization is going to make us do anything, anything at all.”
Zelaya told a local television station that Bitcoin is an issue of “sovereignty.”
RELATED STORIES El Salvador plans first 'Bitcoin City', backed by bitcoin bonds Early stumble as El Salvador starts Bitcoin as currency El Salvador makes Bitcoin legal tender “Countries are sovereign nations and they take sovereign decisions about public policy,” he said.
The IMF recommended last week that El Salvador dissolve the US$150 million trust fund it created when it made the cryptocurrency legal tender and return any of those unused funds to its treasury.
The agency cited concerns about the volatility of Bitcoin prices, and the possibility of criminals using the cryptocurrency. After nearly doubling in value late last year, Bitcoin has plunged in value.
Zelaya said El Salvador has complied with all financial transaction and money laundering rules.
The trust fund was intended to allow the automatic conversion of Bitcoin to U.S. dollars - El Salvador's other currency - to encourage people wary of adopting the highly volatile digital currency.
The IMF also recommended eliminating the offer of US$30 as an incentive for people to start using the digital wallet “Chivo” and increasing regulation of the digital wallet to protect consumers. It suggested there could be benefits to the use of Chivo, but only using dollars, not Bitcoin.