The World Bank rejects El Salvador's request for help with Bitcoin

The World Bank rejects El Salvador's request for help with Bitcoin - el salvador bannerThe World Bank rejected a request from El Salvador for help with Bitcoin implementation (quotation BTC) as legal tender.

Concerns about the transparency and environmental impact of Bitcoin mining were cited among the reasons.

Such a request rejected? This does not surprise us ...

Earlier this month, the Central American country announced plans to become the first nation to formally adopt the digital currency. El Salvador aims to use Bitcoin as legal tender in parallel with the US dollar. We recall, in fact, that the country has adopted the US dollar for some years, abandoning its national currency.

The World Bank's decision could mean the country faces problems in meeting the deadline to ensure Bitcoin is accepted nationally in the next three months.

"We are committed to helping El Salvador in many ways, including currency transparency and regulatory processes," a World Bank spokesperson told Reuters news agency via email.

"Although the government has contacted us for assistance with Bitcoin, this is not something the World Bank can support given the environmental and transparency gaps," they added.

This comes after El Salvador's finance minister Alejandro Zelaya said on Wednesday that the country had asked the World Bank for technical assistance in implementing cryptocurrency as an official payment method.

Zelaya also said that discussions with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) were successful, stating that the IMF was not "against" the implementation of Bitcoin.

El Salvador paved the way for other countries

But the IMF last week said it saw "macroeconomic, financial and legal problems" with El Salvador's adoption of Bitcoin.

Last week, El Salvador became the first country in the world to officially classify Bitcoin as fiat currency. His Congress approved President Nayib Bukele's proposal to embrace cryptocurrency.

President Bukele said the government made history and the move would make it easier for Salvadorans living overseas to send money home.

Under the legislation, Bitcoin will become legal tender, along with the US dollar, within 90 days of approval by Congress.

The new law says that every business must accept Bitcoin as legal tender for goods or services, unless they are able to provide the technology needed to process the transaction.

El Salvador's economy relies heavily on remittances, or money sent home from abroad, which make up about 20% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP).

More than two million Salvadorans live outside the country but continue to maintain close ties to their birthplace, returning more than $ 4 billion annually.