El Salvador will remain committed to Bitcoin even after elections: Vice President
San Salvador: Bitcoin will remain legal tender In El Salvador during the second term of President Nayib BukeleHis vice president Said on Wednesday.
Days before elections with Bukele expected to win easily due to crackdown on gangs, Felix Ulloa – with Bukele temporarily on leave to run for re-election – called on the Central American nation to adopt cryptocurrencies as legal tender. But double the pressure was put on.
Ulloa said the announcement came after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) asked El Salvador to “reconsider” the measure during negotiations for a $1 billion loan.
The government has no intention of overturning the decision, Ulloa said, adding that the recent announcement by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to allow US-listed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tracking Bitcoin only served to further its The resolve has been strengthened.
A decade after its creation, the ETF has been hailed as a game-changer for Bitcoin, offering investors exposure to the world’s largest cryptocurrency without directly holding the tokens. ETFs also provide a big boost for the scandal-plagued crypto industry.
“Not only will it (the law) be maintained,” Ulloa said in an interview with Reuters on Wednesday. “At this moment, it has the greatest credibility in the entire world.”
Ulloa said that if Bukele and his New Ideas party win Sunday’s election, as most polls predict, the Salvadoran government will pursue plans to launch bitcoin-backed bonds during the first quarter of 2024.
He said the construction of Bitcoin City, a tax-free crypto haven proposed by Bukele in the east of the country, and the issuance of passports to investors who contribute the equivalent of $1 million in the cryptocurrency would also be moved forward.
In September 2021, El Salvador became the first country in the world to establish Bitcoin as legal tender, drawing strong criticism. One of the strongest critics was the IMF, with whom the country is negotiating a $1.3 billion loan.
Ulloa, a 72-year-old lawyer, said he hoped barriers to accessing IMF financing would be removed amid a surge in public debt.
“Most parts of the package have already been agreed upon,” he said.
Days before elections with Bukele expected to win easily due to crackdown on gangs, Felix Ulloa – with Bukele temporarily on leave to run for re-election – called on the Central American nation to adopt cryptocurrencies as legal tender. But double the pressure was put on.
Ulloa said the announcement came after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) asked El Salvador to “reconsider” the measure during negotiations for a $1 billion loan.
The government has no intention of overturning the decision, Ulloa said, adding that the recent announcement by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to allow US-listed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tracking Bitcoin only served to further its The resolve has been strengthened.
A decade after its creation, the ETF has been hailed as a game-changer for Bitcoin, offering investors exposure to the world’s largest cryptocurrency without directly holding the tokens. ETFs also provide a big boost for the scandal-plagued crypto industry.
“Not only will it (the law) be maintained,” Ulloa said in an interview with Reuters on Wednesday. “At this moment, it has the greatest credibility in the entire world.”
Ulloa said that if Bukele and his New Ideas party win Sunday’s election, as most polls predict, the Salvadoran government will pursue plans to launch bitcoin-backed bonds during the first quarter of 2024.
He said the construction of Bitcoin City, a tax-free crypto haven proposed by Bukele in the east of the country, and the issuance of passports to investors who contribute the equivalent of $1 million in the cryptocurrency would also be moved forward.
In September 2021, El Salvador became the first country in the world to establish Bitcoin as legal tender, drawing strong criticism. One of the strongest critics was the IMF, with whom the country is negotiating a $1.3 billion loan.
Ulloa, a 72-year-old lawyer, said he hoped barriers to accessing IMF financing would be removed amid a surge in public debt.
“Most parts of the package have already been agreed upon,” he said.
