A New U.S. Draft Bill Would Mitigate El Salvador’s Bitcoin Adoption Risks
A group of US senators introduced a draft bill centered around El Salvador’s adoption of bitcoin as legal tender.
Senators Jim Risch, Bob Menendez, and Bill Cassidy’s Accountability for Cryptocurrency in El Salvador (ACES) Act would require a State Department report on mitigating risks to the U.S. financial system from El Salvador’s adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender.
According to Bill Cassidy:
“El Salvador recognizing Bitcoin (BTC) as official currency opens the door for money laundering cartels and undermines U.S. interests. If the United States wishes to combat money laundering and preserve the role of the dollar as a reserve currency of the world, we must tackle this issue head on.”
If the bill is passed, it means that the State Department must report on a laundry list of subjects with respect to El Salvador and Bitcoin, including the flow of remittances from the U.S. to El Salvador, bilateral and international efforts to combat transnational illicit activities, and the potential for reduced use of USD by El Salvador.
The bill states:
“Not later than 90 days after the submittal of the report required by subsection 19 (a), the Secretary of State, in coordination with the heads of other relevant Federal departments and agencies, shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a plan to mitigate any potential risk to the United States financial system posed by the adoption of a cryptocurrency as legal tender in El Salvador; and any other country that uses the United 2 States dollar as legal tender.”
Menendez (D-N.J.) is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Risch (R-Idaho) is the ranking member, while Cassidy is not on the Committee.
El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele was quick to respond:
“OK boomers … You have zero 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.”
OK boomers…
You have 0 jurisdiction on a sovereign and independent nation.
We are not your colony, your back yard or your front yard.
