Dante Mossi acknowledged that, in general, since the adoption of bitcoin as legal tender in El Salvador, this cryptocurrency has become more popular.. However, the local population is not too interested in using bitcoin.. His comments come amid growing criticism and uncertainty about El Salvador's bitcoin experimentation, especially after the BTC price has more than halved in recent months.
As of July 2022, the government of El Salvador owns 2,381 BTC. In November, the President of the country, Nayib Bukele, announced that the Salvadoran authorities would resume the purchase of a crypto asset and would buy 1 bitcoin daily.
The banker cited Nayib Bukele Portfolio Tracker data as an example, according to which the country spent $109 million on buying bitcoins, but lost more than $51 million due to market volatility.. CABEI loaned El Salvador $450 million last month and most of it is expected to be used to redeem bonds next week.. According to Mossi, El Salvador authorities are prohibited from using these funds to buy bitcoins, and the use of these funds will be verified in six months.
CABEI is working with El Salvador to collect information that should also include local government bitcoin purchases. The resulting data will then be submitted to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for further guidance.
Recall that in the fall, the State Development Bank of El Salvador, BANDESAL, refused to provide data on operations with bitcoin to the anti-corruption bureau.. Therefore, the advocacy group Cristosal recently called on the Bukele administration to ensure full transparency regarding the use of public funds associated with bitcoin.