March 29, 2024

CABEI Chairman: "Bitcoin is not very popular among Salvadorans"

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CABEI Chairman: “Bitcoin is not very popular among Salvadorans”

Chairman of the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) Dante Mossi said that Bitcoin is not in great demand among the population of El Salvador.

Dante Mossi admitted that in generalSince the adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender in El Salvador, the cryptocurrency has become more popular. However, the local population is not too interested in using Bitcoin. His comments come amid growing criticism and uncertainty over El Salvador's Bitcoin experiments, especially after BTC's price has more than halved in recent months.

As of July 2022, in possessionThe government of El Salvador holds 2,381 BTC. In November, the country's President Nayib Bukele said that the Salvadoran authorities would resume the purchase of the crypto asset and would buy 1 bitcoin daily.

The banker cited Nayib Bukele data as an examplePortfolio Tracker shows that the country spent $109 million on bitcoin but lost more than $51 million due to market volatility. CABEI loaned El Salvador $450 million last month, and most of it is expected to be used to repay bonds next month. week. According to Mossi, the Salvadoran authorities are prohibited from using these funds to purchase bitcoins, and the use of these proceeds will be verified after six months.

CABEI is working with El Salvador to collectinformation, which should also include local government purchases of Bitcoin. The findings will then be submitted to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for further recommendations.

Let us remind you that in the fall the State BankDevelopment of El Salvador BANDESAL refused to provide the anti-corruption bureau with data on bitcoin transactions. Therefore, advocacy group Cristosal recently called on the Bukele administration to ensure full transparency regarding the use of public funds related to Bitcoin.