In the United States Senate, a bipartisan group of senators filed legislation to address potential hazards associated with El Salvador’s adoption of Bitcoin as a legal tender.
The proposed Accountability for Cryptocurrency in El Salvador Act (ACES) aims to “minimise possible vulnerabilities to the United States financial system,” such as money laundering and terrorism funding. Republican Senators Jim Risch and Bill Cassidy initiated the bill, which was co-sponsored by Democratic Senator Bob Menendez. If the bill passes, it will give federal agencies 60 days to submit a report evaluating the Central American country’s cybersecurity and financial stability capabilities.
The first section of the report will look at how El Salvador developed and implemented the Bitcoin Law, how it will “mitigate the financial integrity and cybersecurity risks” posed by virtual assets, whether it complies with Financial Action Task Force (FATF) requirements, the impact on individuals and businesses, and the economic impact of crypto. The report’s following section would examine El Salvador’s internet infrastructure and assess “the extent to which cryptocurrency is employed” there, as well as fund custody and hacking risks, and the rate of financial access enjoyed by poor or unbanked El Salvadorans.
In June 2021, El Salvador’s government passed the Bitcoin Law. As a result, Bitcoin (BTC) became a legal tender in the country, requiring companies to accept it as payment.
