President of El Salvador, the first Central American country to accept Bitcoin as its legal currency, Bukele applied to the IMF for a loan of $ 1.3 billion to finance the construction of a new airport and Pacific train line.
As loan negotiations continued, the IMF had warned the El Salvador government that adopting Bitcoin as a legal currency could cause financial and regulatory problems for the country of El Salvador. Alongside the IMF, credit rating company Moody’s had warned the El Salvador government that adopting Bitcoin as a legal currency could prevent them from obtaining loans from the IMF.
Douglas Rodriguez, head of the Central Bank of El Salvador, in an interview with Bloomberg; In response to the IMF’s warnings, he stated that the adoption of Bitcoin as legal currency would not hinder his plans to allocate the loan requested from the IMF.
Rodriguz said that he believes the adoption of Bitcoin will be even more beneficial for the country, as opposed to hindering its credit schemes.
Central Bank President Rodriguz stated that they expect even the volatile structure of Bitcoin to contribute to the country’s economy and to achieve growth of about 9%.
Emphasizing that the only risk on the economy of Bitcoin adoption may be an upside risk, Rodriguez told the IMF “Bitcoin is just a means of payment” He reiterated that Bitcoin does not pose a risk.
Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency, which has risen above $ 60,000 for the first time since April, continues to trade at $ 62,530.