The Congress of El Salvador approved on Tuesday the Law for the Creation of Bitcoin Trust, or Fidebitcoin, which will allow the conversion of bitcoins into dollars.
The law, approved with 64 votes in favor and 14 against, seeks to "financially support the alternatives provided by the State, without prejudice to private initiatives, which allow the user to carry out the automatic and instantaneous convertibility of bitcoins to dollars", according to a press release.
In a video published through the official Twitter account of the Congress, the president of the entity, Ernesto Castro, pointed out that the funds will be taken by the Ministry of Finance from the current budget. The regulation will enter into force eight days after its publication in the official gazette.
https://twitter.com/AsambleaSV/status/1432824606860222470?s=20
The trust will be in charge of Banco de Desarrollo de El Salvador (BANDESAL) and will have an initial fund of US$150 million.
El Salvador's dollarized economy depends largely on foreign currency received from abroad, especially from the United States, as recently confirmed by the Central Reserve Bank (BCR), which revealed that in July alone, the country received US$4,087.8 million in family remittances from the United States.
The entity stated that the amount represented "95.4% of the total remittances received up to July".
Despite the criticism, other congressmen sympathetic to the Bukele Administration, such as Guillermo Gallegos, of the Grand Alliance for National Unity (GANA), have stated that Fidebitcoin was "an act of responsibility" and was a way to regulate the cryptocurrency.
Both congressmen close to President Nayib Bukele, as well as the President himself, maintain that the entry into force of bitcoin will allow remittances from the United States to El Salvador, at no cost to the sender or recipient.