El Salvador approves new bill to comply with IMF deal

• The reform passed with 55 votes, with only two against
• El Salvador became the first country to accept Bitcoin as legal tender in 2021
• In December, El Salvador announced it was changing its Bitcoin law to secure a $1.3bn loan from the IMF

El Salvador’s Congress has approved a bill to change its Bitcoin law to comply with a deal it struck with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

On January 29, Reuters reported that the bill was approved minutes after President Nayib Bukele sent it.

The reform passed with 55 votes, with only two against. Under El Salvador’s Bitcoin law, it required businesses to accept Bitcoin if they were able to do so. Ruling party lawmaker Elisa Rosales said it was required to ensure Bitcoin’s “permanence as legal tender” while facilitating its “practical implementation.”

Legal tender

El Salvador became the first country to accept Bitcoin as legal tender in 2021. At the time, it was reported that all businesses must accept Bitcoin. The move soon attracted the attention of the IMF.

Following El Salvador’s adoption of Bitcoin in 2021, the IMF sent a statement in November 2021 “recommend[ing] narrowing the scope of the Bitcoin law” while “strengthening the regulation and supervision of the new payment system.”

This was again called for in January 2022, when the IMF advised El Salvador to reconsider its decision to make Bitcoin the country’s legal tender. More recently, the IMF recommended that El Salvador limit the public’s exposure to Bitcoin.

New deal

In December, El Salvador changed its Bitcoin plans to secure a $1.3 billion loan from the IMF.

Under the plans, El Salvador would change a legal requirement making businesses accept Bitcoin as payment, making it optional instead. The government would also reduce the budget deficit by 3.5% of GDP over three years through spending cuts and tax rises while boosting reserves from $11 billion to $15 billion.

The deal is also expected to unlock a further $1 billion in lending from the World Bank and $1 billion from the Inter-American Development Bank over the next few years.