U.S. Senators Jim Risch and Bob Menendez have reintroduced the “Accountability for Cryptocurrency in El Salvador Act” in the U.S. Senate, seeking to assess the impact of El Salvador’s adoption of bitcoin as legal tender on the country’s financial stability. The act seeks to compel the Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Treasury to produce a report on the adoption of bitcoin and legal tender in El Salvador, including an assessment of the legislation that allowed it, the impact it is having on the personal economy of Salvadorans, and the potential gaps in compliance with the guidelines issued by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on money laundering and terrorism financing activities.
The report is also expected to examine the influence on El Salvador’s international financial stability, including the potential impact on its relations with multilateral finance organizations like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, as well as the remittance flow between El Salvador and the U.S. Finally, the report will investigate how bitcoin adoption might undermine the usage of dollars in the country.
Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, who championed legal tender status for bitcoin, expressed his disbelief on the grounds of the ACES Act, stating that he “never in his wildest dreams would have thought the U.S. Government would be afraid of what they are doing here”.
The ACES Act was previously presented to Congress on March 23, 2022. With the reintroduction of the ACES Act, Senator Risch has reinforced the perceived necessity to seek clarity on how the adoption of bitcoin as legal tender may affect El Salvador’s financial and economic stability, as well as its ability to combat money laundering and illicit finances. News of the reintroduction has prompted commentary across the crypto industry, particularly as El Salvador continues to build infrastructure around Bitcoin.
