Nayib Bukele – the president of the Central American country of El Salvador – is telling the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to “talk to the hand” because he’s clearly not listening.
El Salvador Isn’t Listening to the IMF
Not long ago, the IMF made headlines when it practically got down on its knees and begged El Salvador to reject bitcoin forever and dismiss its newfound crypto agenda. Nothing good could come of BTC in the agency’s mind given that the asset is prone to heavy volatility and price swings. In addition, the IMF was very concerned about the nation’s ability to protect traders and regulate the cryptocurrency.
However, despite these warnings, El Salvador has stood strong and is refusing to back down from its present plans. Thus far, the country has been engaged in bitcoin transactions for the last five months, and regulators are confident in the future and eager to take more chances to wean itself off the U.S. dollar, which is the fiat currency the country has long been dependent on.
Alejandro Zelaya – the treasury minister of El Salvador – commented in a recent interview that adopting bitcoin was a way for the nation to become more independent and stand out in financial society. He was quick to dismiss the IMF’s request and said:
Countries are sovereign nations, and they take sovereign decisions about public policy. No international organization is going to make us do anything, anything at all.
Bukele himself was also quick to ridicule the IMF by posting a meme on Twitter of the popular animated television show “The Simpsons.” The meme simply read:
I see you, IMF. That’s very nice.
Marcus Sotiriou – an analyst at the digital asset broker Global Block in the United Kingdom – appeared to question whether the IMF was truly concerned about bitcoin or whether it simply wanted El Salvador to remain dependent on fiat currency loans it could provide. In a recent statement, he mentioned:
It seems that El Salvador may not need the coercive loans from the IMF any longer by issuing the innovative bitcoin bond, which allows them to raise funds to set up mining infrastructure. The IMF may be fearful of the rise of bitcoin’s increasing global presence, as other Latin American countries are rumored to be adopting bitcoin as legal tender themselves.
Bitcoin Offers Power and Independence
In other words, by resorting specifically to bitcoin, El Salvador is freeing itself from the many regulations and infringements that would come with standard financial agencies.
Last September, the nation of El Salvador became the first official country in the world to declare bitcoin legal tender. Individuals could walk into any store or business and offer bitcoin for goods or services the same way they could fiat currency. Thus far, the country’s agenda has been met with praise from financial experts like Cathie Wood.
