US lawmakers introduce companion bill to 'mitigate risks' from El Salvador’s Bitcoin Law

2 years ago

"The United States indispensable person a program successful spot to support our fiscal systems from the risks of [El Salvador's] decision," said Representative Norma Torres.

US lawmakers present  companion measure  to 'mitigate risks' from El Salvador’s Bitcoin Law

Two members of the House of Representatives person introduced authorities aimed astatine mitigating the risks to the United States fiscal strategy owed to El Salvador adopting Bitcoin arsenic ineligible currency.

In a Monday announcement, California Representative Norma Torres and Arkansas Representative Rick Crawford proposed authorities which would nonstop the State Department to make a program mitigating the imaginable risks to the U.S. fiscal strategy based connected an investigation of the risks to El Salvador’s “cybersecurity, economical stability, and antiauthoritarian governance” pursuing the state recognizing Bitcoin (BTC) arsenic ineligible tender successful September 2021. The Accountability for Cryptocurrency successful El Salvador Act is simply a companion measure to bipartisan legislation introduced successful the Senate successful February.

The Senate measure aimed to person the Secretary of State and heads of Federal departments and agencies study to Congress wrong 60 days connected a program to "mitigate immoderate imaginable hazard to the United States fiscal strategy posed by the adoption of a cryptocurrency arsenic ineligible tender" successful El Salvador and different countries which judge the U.S. dollar — seemingly including Ecuador, Micronesia, Palau, East Timor, Zimbabwe, and the Marshall Islands. Torres cited the International Monetary Fund’s reports that the use of Bitcoin arsenic ineligible tender carried “large risks” related to fiscal stability, fiscal integrity and user protection.

“El Salvador is an autarkic ideology and we respect its close to self-govern, but the United States indispensable person a program successful spot to support our fiscal systems from the risks of this decision, which appears to beryllium a careless gamble alternatively than a thoughtful clasp of innovation,” said Torres.

Today, I introduced the Accountability for Cryptocurrency successful El Salvador Act with @RepRickCrawford. El Salvador’s adoption of #Bitcoin is not a thoughtful clasp of innovation, but a careless gamble that is destabilizing the country. https://t.co/Ag9K8fyHMb pic.twitter.com/4N8DN7895w

— Rep. Norma Torres (@NormaJTorres) April 5, 2022

Idaho Senator James Risch, the sponsor of the Senate bill, said successful February that El Salvador’s adoption of BTC arsenic ineligible tender raised “significant concerns astir the economical stableness and fiscal integrity of a susceptible U.S. trading spouse successful Central America.” Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy, 1 of the co-sponsors, claimed that the country’s Bitcoin Law could “[open] the doorway for wealth laundering cartels” and endanger the U.S. dollar’s dominance arsenic the planetary reserve currency.

In March, the measure passed the Foreign Relations Committee and whitethorn beryllium headed to a afloat Senate vote. El Salvador President Nayib Bukele reacted to the instauration of authorities successful February by urging the United States to “stay out” of the country’s interior affairs and to the measure moving guardant the pursuing period by claiming “​​the U.S. Government DOES NOT basal for freedom.”

Never successful my wildest dreams would I person thought that the US Government would beryllium acrophobic of what we are doing here. pic.twitter.com/QgJPa70mn0

— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) March 23, 2022

Related: El Salvador: How it started vs. however it went with the Bitcoin Law successful 2021

Since El Salvador’s Bitcoin Law went into effect, Bukele has utilized his Twitter relationship to announce respective BTC buys totaling 1,801 BTC arsenic of January — worthy astir $83 cardinal astatine the clip of publication. In addition, the Salvadoran authorities said connected March 23 that it would beryllium postponing issuing BTC-backed bonds aimed astatine backing its ‘Bitcoin City’ project.

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