Adoption of cryptocurrencies in El Salvador worries Florida banks
Recently, the president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, had announced that he was studying the possibility of adopting the use of cryptocurrencies as currency.
But this move by the Central American president is not viewed favorably by Florida bankers who believe that this would help launder illicit funds through the US financial system.
“We are very concerned about the adoption of cryptocurrency in El Salvador,” said Daniel Gutiérrez, director of the Florida International Bankers Association (FIBA).
Laws of El Salvador are weak to adopt cryptocurrencies
Florida bankers indicated that El Salvador's legislation is unreliable to detect financial crimes that could be generated by the use of cryptocurrencies.
“The whole world is looking at El Salvador to see how it fares with this experiment. But the truth is that El Salvador is becoming a big problem” for US banks, said Sergio Alvarez-Mena, Head of International Counsel for Charles Schwab.
Bitcoin City and the Bukele project: what is behind the cryptocurrency paradise? https://t.co/6z2PzKyIr0
– Flower (@Flor09359188) December 14, 2021
The measure, which was approved three months ago, has been controversial even within El Salvador, leading to massive anti-government protests led by people who believe that the use of cryptocurrencies should be optional and not mandatory as stipulated by the new laws.
Last week, the Treasury Department placed several officials and former officials on its sanctions list, including the Salvadoran government chief of staff, Martha Carolina Recino, for alleged misuse of public funds.
President Bukele replied
In the face of criticism, the president of El Salvador has responded with a tweet criticizing the "absolute submission" of the United States and describing the "daily accusations" as "absurd."
The announced sanctions imply, among other things, that all properties or interests in properties that are in the United States belonging to these people are blocked, as well as any entity that they partially or totally own.
Bukele allocated more than $200 million to make El Salvador "the first country in the world to adopt bitcoin", even when his government faces serious financial problems, finding it difficult to cover the national budget itself.
Miami Daily
Author: Daniel Parra 6:39 am