Two US senators from opposing camps have reintroduced 2022 legislation aimed at mitigating the perceived risks of adopting Bitcoin as legal currency in El Salvador.
Congressional records showed that Idaho Senator, James Risch, and Senator from New Jersey, Bob Menendez, presented “a bill to require reports on the adoption of cryptocurrency as legal tender in El Salvador” on May 11. The legislation appeared to be a second attempt at El Salvador’s Cryptocurrency Accountability Law, which Risch introduced in February 2022, just months after El Salvador’s Bitcoin Law went into effect.
According to a May 12 report by the Washington Examiner, Risch introduced the bill as part of efforts to fight the use of cryptocurrency as legal tender, claiming it could “undermine economic and financial stability and empower evil actors”. Bitcoin (BTC) has been accepted as legal tender in El Salvador along with the national currency colón and the US dollar since September 2021.
If approved, the bill could require United States federal agencies to report on El Salvador’s capabilities in cybersecurity and financial stability, and how these may have led to the passage of the country’s Bitcoin Law. The International Monetary Fund also warned the Central American nation in February to consider the risk of BTC as legal tender on the country’s financial integrity and stability.
The previous version of the Bitcoin-focused legislation introduced in the Senate passed committee in April 2022. House lawmakers also introduced a companion bill, but according to congressional records the legislation has not moved in more than a year.
Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that the US Government would be afraid of what we are doing here. pic.twitter.com/QgJPa70mn0
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) March 23, 2022
Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that the American government would be afraid of what we are doing here.
The President of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, attacked directly at US lawmakers as “boomers” on Twitter the last time the bill was introduced, claiming they were trying to interfere with “a sovereign and independent nation.” Under Bukele, the country has adopted many pro-crypto policies, including plans to raise funds to build a “Bitcoin city” using BTC-backed bonds.
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