Bipartisan Senate Proposal would require El Salvador to report on risk management

The Accountability for Cryptocurrency in El Salvador (ACES) Act, introduced by Senators Jim Risch, Bob Menendez, and Bill Cassidy, will demand a State Department report on managing risk to the United States financial system from country’s use of Bitcoin as legal currency.

“El Salvador recognizing Bitcoin (BTC) as official currency opens the door for money laundering cartels and undermines U.S. interests,” said Bill Cassidy. We must address this problem head-on if the U.S. hopes to fight money laundering and preserve the dollar’s position as the world’s reserve currency, he added.

If the bill gets approval, it would require the State Department to disclose a number of matters related to El Salvador and Bitcoin, such as the flow of remittances from the United States to the country, bilateral and international measures to fight cross-border criminal activities and the possibility of country’s use of the greenback being reduced.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is chaired by Menendez, while Risch is going to be the ranking member.

Unaffected El Salvador

El Salvador’s President, Nayib Bukele, promptly reacted with a partly funny, partly angry response: “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.

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

This is not the first time the country has been criticized and questioned over the underlying concerns. In October last year, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin criticized the country’s actions on BTC adoption. Not only this, the citizens fear losing the IMF deal when Fitch Ratings downgraded El Salvador rating to CCC, citing Bitcoin adoption as a reason.

However, the country seems unaffected. In the New Year, president Bukele predicted that two more nations would adopt Bitcoin as their legal tenders.