A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced legislation in the U.S. Senate Tuesday (Feb. 15) to diminish risks to the nation’s financial system by El Salvador’s adoption of bitcoin as legal tender.
The Accountability for Cryptocurrency in El Salvador (ACES) Act was introduced by Sen. James Risch of Idaho, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s ranking member, Committee Chairman Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey, and Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana.
In the fall, the smallest and most densely populated country in Central America made plans to issue sovereign bitcoin bonds.
Read more: El Salvador Plans to Build Tax-Free Bitcoin City
“El Salvador’s adoption of bitcoin as legal tender raises significant concerns about the economic stability and financial integrity of a vulnerable U.S. trading partner in Central America,” Risch said in a statement.
If enacted, the measure would require the U.S. State Department to report on El Salvador’s bitcoin moves and develop a plan to limit any diminish potential risks to the country’s financial system. The State Department report would also include information about El Salvador’s process to make bitcoin legal tender and examine how that law affects its residents and businesses.
The State Department would also investigate El Salvador’s bilateral economic and commercial relationship with the U.S. and the potential for reduced use of the dollar by El Salvador, as well as its relationships with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank and any possibility of using cryptocurrency to circumvent U.S. sanctions.
In response, Nayib Bukele El Salvador’s president, tweeted an angry reaction to the proposal.
OK boomers…
You have 0 jurisdiction on a sovereign and independent nation.
We are not your colony, your back yard or your front yard.
Stay out of our internal affairs.
Don’t try to control something you can’t control 😉
https://t.co/pkejw6dtYn— Nayib Bukele 🇸🇻 (@nayibbukele) February 16, 2022
“OK boomers… You have 0 jurisdiction on a sovereign and independent nation. We are not your colony, your back yard or your front yard. Stay out of our internal affairs. Don’t try to control something you can’t control.”
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