Sjors Provoost's avatar
Sjors Provoost sjors@sprovoost.nl 1 year ago
Looks like three changes: 1) Legal reforms will make acceptance of Bitcoin by the private sector voluntary. 2) Taxes will only be paid in U.S. dollars and 3) the government’s participation in the crypto e-wallet (Chivo) will be gradually unwound. 4) For the public sector, engagement in Bitcoin-related economic activities and transactions in and purchases of Bitcoin will be confined (1) and (3) seem fine, you could see them as bootstrapping measures. Now let's see if companies keep accepting it. (2) is dubious, the treasury could just exchange BTC to USD to manage the volatility. But is this really about US dollar hegemony feeling threatened, or something more "mundane" such as: a) the IMF doesn't trust the El Salvador government to handle this competently; or b) a desire to keep surveilling money flows by forcing them through the fiat banking system (4) "confined" is a vert flexible term, stay humble, stack sats in a confined manner! View quoted note →

Replies (18)

TheBitcoinManual's avatar
TheBitcoinManual thebtcmanual@getalby.com 1 year ago
1, I always had an issue with let the people decide, don't force it on them as for the government wallet failing colour me shocked, lol the free market will provide better solutions anyway If they've built up so much Bitcoin in the past few years, and actively mining and generating income from the bump in tourism and investment why the need for the IMF loan? Whatever happened to those volcano bonds they were shilling? And didn't they refinance their older debt to better terms? I remember reading that somewhere
User's avatar
npub1armc...kf6h 1 year ago
all countries that have been tempted by imf lending, the last of which was argentina, followed immediately by el salvador after their joint meeting, must clearly understand that an investor who puts in money today will at some point want to get out and, most importantly, get out with a profit..
Analogue Dog's avatar
Analogue Dog 1 year ago
In reality, on the ground, acceptance of Bitcoin was always voluntary. No business was ever forced. Using bitcoin at any supermarket came with a high amount of friction, and would generally take 5-20x longer than paying with cash or card. Chivo is not Bitcoin. It's a CBDC pegged to the price of Bitcoin.
Judge Hardcase's avatar
Judge Hardcase 1 year ago
That's okay. Given the stockpile El Salvador has already accumulated, another 10x or so in price might result in the IMF asking El Salvador for a loan.
Default avatar
npub18w5m...8w27 1 year ago
Losing the legal tender status (point 1) sucks. Official currency in a UN-recognized country gave it an internationally "legal" status (even protection?), which is hugely beneficial for institutions and citizens in the the rest of the world. Now it's just a crypto asset that can be seized (legally) any time
calvadev⚡️'s avatar
calvadev⚡️ calvadev@calva.dev 1 year ago
Sjors Provoost's avatar Sjors Provoost
Looks like three changes: 1) Legal reforms will make acceptance of Bitcoin by the private sector voluntary. 2) Taxes will only be paid in U.S. dollars and 3) the government’s participation in the crypto e-wallet (Chivo) will be gradually unwound. 4) For the public sector, engagement in Bitcoin-related economic activities and transactions in and purchases of Bitcoin will be confined (1) and (3) seem fine, you could see them as bootstrapping measures. Now let's see if companies keep accepting it. (2) is dubious, the treasury could just exchange BTC to USD to manage the volatility. But is this really about US dollar hegemony feeling threatened, or something more "mundane" such as: a) the IMF doesn't trust the El Salvador government to handle this competently; or b) a desire to keep surveilling money flows by forcing them through the fiat banking system (4) "confined" is a vert flexible term, stay humble, stack sats in a confined manner! View quoted note →
View quoted note →
1 replies ↓
calvadev⚡️'s avatar
calvadev⚡️ calvadev@calva.dev 1 year ago
Sjors Provoost's avatar Sjors Provoost
Looks like three changes: 1) Legal reforms will make acceptance of Bitcoin by the private sector voluntary. 2) Taxes will only be paid in U.S. dollars and 3) the government’s participation in the crypto e-wallet (Chivo) will be gradually unwound. 4) For the public sector, engagement in Bitcoin-related economic activities and transactions in and purchases of Bitcoin will be confined (1) and (3) seem fine, you could see them as bootstrapping measures. Now let's see if companies keep accepting it. (2) is dubious, the treasury could just exchange BTC to USD to manage the volatility. But is this really about US dollar hegemony feeling threatened, or something more "mundane" such as: a) the IMF doesn't trust the El Salvador government to handle this competently; or b) a desire to keep surveilling money flows by forcing them through the fiat banking system (4) "confined" is a vert flexible term, stay humble, stack sats in a confined manner! View quoted note →
View quoted note →
John sati's avatar
John sati user57088002@fountain.fm 1 year ago
clearly that the IMF is there to protect the people’s purchasing power, all the efforts they do to keep Bukele in line 😜 more obviously, the IMF is afraid seeing El Salvador become debt free and most importantly free of IMF control
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