The U.S. isn’t crazy about the bitcoin agenda implemented by El Salvador. As a result, several members of Congress are now working to create a new law that would require El Salvador to report to American officials regarding its bitcoin use to ensure accountability.
El Salvador Is the Object of America’s Bitcoin Suspicions
The law is called the Accountability for Cryptocurrency in El Salvador (ACES) Act. It was written and introduced by Norma J. Torres, a democrat from California, and Rick Crawford, a republican of Arkansas. This suggests that the bill was produced through bipartisan efforts. The document is designed to analyze any risks to America’s financial systems if El Salvador indeed switches completely over to bitcoin.
In a tweet earlier this week, Torres commented:
El Salvador’s adoption of bitcoin is not a thoughtful embrace of innovation, but a careless gamble that is destabilizing the country.
She also released the bill for public viewing, and further explained in a follow-up statement what the document works to initiate:
The legislation directs the state department to produce an analysis of El Salvador’s adoption of bitcoin as legal tender and the risks for cybersecurity, economic stability, and democratic governance in El Salvador, and create a plan to mitigate potential risks to the U.S. financial system.
A lot can be said for the bill. For one thing, what the heck are U.S. representatives doing meddling in El Salvador’s business? It’s probably because up until September of last year, El Salvador was heavily dependent on the U.S. dollar to survive. The county is now utilizing bitcoin as a means of regaining its financial independence and weaning itself off American influence, and in many ways, one must respect the country’s president Nayib Bukele for having the guts to do this.
If the country no longer needs USD to survive, America stands to lose some potential business prospects. Certain members of Congress are likely not too happy about that and are working to keep El Salvador returning to the U.S. dollar fountain for as long as possible.
The current bill is designed to serve as a companion to a Senate bill that was introduced roughly two months ago by James Risch of Idaho, Bob Menendez of New Jersey, and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana. That bill was also designed to analyze risks associated with El Salvador’s bitcoin agenda and whatever dangers it presented to the U.S. economy.
Bukele Wants the U.S. Out!
Bukele reacted negatively to the introduction of the bill, calling for the U.S. to stay out of his nation’s business and commenting:
Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that the U.S. [government] would be afraid of what we are doing here.
El Salvador was the first country in the world to declare bitcoin legal tender, meaning it could be used at any business to pay for goods and services.
