IMF to Assist El Salvador in Compiling Bitcoin Adoption Stats

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Key Takeaways

  • Despite its disagreement with El Salvador’s decision to declare bitcoin legal tender last year, the International Monetary Fund(IMF) continues to meet with Salvadoran Government Officials on a regular basis.
  • In a news conference last week, a representative for the organisation, Gerry Rice, said that the government had been approached about a number of issues relating to bitcoin adoption in the country.
  • The talks are still underway, including the authorities’ progress in gathering bitcoin usage statistics and other material related to El Salvado’s adoption of bitcoin as legal tender.

The International Monetary Fund has stated that it is assisting the government of El Salvador in a variety of ways. According to Gerry Rice, the organization’s spokeswoman, the group is in talks with Salvadoran government officials concerning tax and money laundering issues, particularly important issues mentioned by the IMF in previous reports.

Whereas the IMF opposed  El Salvador’s decision to declare bitcoin legal cash last year, it continues to meet with Salvadoran government officials on a monthly basis. A representative for the organization, Gerry Rice, revealed in a news conference last week that the government had been contacted about many issues relating to bitcoin proliferation  and acceptance in the country.

The IMF previously issued a new warning about the adoption of Bitcoin as a legal tender, something it had previously stated in July 2021, when El Salvador became the first nation in the world to do so.

According to a response through email provided to the publications and portals , transforming Bitcoin into a national circulation currency in that African country “poses substantial legal, transparency, and economic policy issues” for the international institution.

Despite the fact that the fund warned that El Salvador’s decision to approve the Bitcoin Law could jeopardise the country’s stability, President Nayib Bukele has stuck to his guns, investing public monies and purchasing over 2,300 BTC, and preserving bitcoin as legal tender.

Rice further clarified the goal of the ongoing conversations, including taxation, money laundering, and offering technical assistance to the government on bitcoin adoption data. Rice clarified the situation by saying:

The conversations are still ongoing, including how far the authorities have progressed in collecting statistics on bitcoin usage and other data connected to the introduction of bitcoin as legal cash in El Salvador. However, the representative did not indicate how it was assisting in the quantification of bitcoin and cryptocurrency use in the country.

El Salvador’s credibility rating has fallen significantly as a consequence of the shortage of transparency attributed by some agencies. According to Jaime Reuschem, the agency’s senior vice-president, this occurred due to a paucity of information on the matter, with just Bukele’s tweets to account for these purchases.

The agency spokesman pointed out that there is minimal transparency regarding these operations in an interview with journalist Gabriela Fras about how the drop in the price of bitcoin could affect public budgets.

“It is assumed that they belong to the public treasury of El Salvador, but we cannot confirm that and, because there is no such transparency, we depend purely on the president’s tweets and that basis is what we make our estimate of how much it is. what El Salvador has in bitcoins.”

El Salvador demonstrates to 44 Countries how Bitcoin can help the Unbanked:

This week, El Salvador organised a financial inclusion event that brought officials from 44 countries to Bitcoin Beach to try out BTC. All participants could download their own Bitcoin wallets and use them to make purchases with BTC.

The gathering, known as the Digital Financial Services Working Group and the SME Finance Working Group and held by the Central Bank of El Salvador, focused on financial inclusion after a two-year break due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Alliance for Financial Inclusion represents all of the participating countries (AFI).

Financial institution representatives even came to Bitcoin Beach at the end of their vacation to try out Bitcoin payments for themselves. The group members were able to “witness what Bitcoin accomplishes for groups excluded from the present banking system,” according to Galoy, the company that oversaw the construction of the crypto wallets for Bitcoin Beach.

Also Read: Why does IMF want Countries Like El Salvador to Not Accept Bitcoin as Legal Tender?

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Aadrika Sharma
Aadrika Sharma

I enjoy writing and try to learn new things every passing day!

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