The post Bitcoin is no longer legal currency in El Salvador appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

As El Salvador slowly submits to requests by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), it has modified its laws to diminish bitcoin’s (BTC) role in the economy. Indeed, despite President Nayib Bukele taunting the IMF and boasting about his embrace of BTC, his need for US dollar financing has forced him to reverse most of his once-celebrated policies. This, in turn, has led to debates among Bitcoiners over whether BTC is even legal tender erupting on social media. BTC no longer accepted for payment of taxes Bukele’s administration has modified laws that enshrined BTC’s role as legal tender in the country’s constitution, neutering the role of the world’s foremost digital asset. Critically, the government deleted a provision in Article 4, “Todas las contribuciones tributarias podrán ser pagadas en bitcoin” (translated: All tax contributions may be paid in bitcoin). Because an instrument’s status as “legal tender for all debts, public and private” is usually its paramount quality in obtaining legal tender status, BTC no longer qualifies under this definition. Merchants no longer compelled to accept BTC A recent amendment to the law that made BTC legal tender still refers to it as such, but modifies the requirement for merchants to accept it as payment. Throughout the country, the government doesn’t compel merchants to accept BTC as a payment method.  Despite the fact that the law in theory forced BTC’s acceptance, the rule was never actually enforced. This has led some Bitcoiners to contest that it was never actually legal tender in the first place. Bitcoin no longer has “legal tender” status in El Salvador. I think this is good, I don’t like any legal tender laws. Why force businesses to transact a certain way? A biz should be able to accept or not accept any form of payment. Freedom is the whole…

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Filed under: News - @ February 14, 2025 7:16 pm