El Salvador strongly opposes IMF demands to drop Bitcoin as legal tender

The El Salvadoran Finance Minister, Alejandro Zelaya responded to the demands to remove Bitcoin as legal tender from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF previously urged the country to drop the leading cryptocurrency’s legal status citing risks associated with its use.

El Salvador President expects “gigantic price increase” for Bitcoin

The government of El Salvador rejected a recommendation by the IMF to drop Bitcoin as legal tender in the country. The Treasury Minister stated that “no international organization is going to make us do anything, anything at all.”

Zelaya added that Bitcoin is an issue of “sovereignty,” and that “countries are sovereign nations and they take sovereign decisions about public policy.”

The Central American country’s Finance Minister stated that El Salvador has complied with all financial transaction and money laundering rules. 

Last week, the IMF published a press release, urging El Salvador to narrow the scope of the country’s Bitcoin law. The recommendation came after the IMF’s executive board, highlighting that there are large risks associated with the use of Bitcoin on financial stability, integrity, consumer protection and associated fiscal contingent liabilities.

The IMF further recommended that El Salvador should dissolve the $150 million trust fund following the country’s move to make the bellwether cryptocurrency legal tender and return any unused funds to its treasury.

El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele also dismissed the IMF’s recommendation on Bitcoin. Bukele recently stated that he expects a “gigantic price increase” for the leading cryptocurrency.

The country’s president foresees gains fueled by the growing demand for the limited supply of the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization.