Satoshi Nakamoto created Bitcoin to sideline banks rather than to include them in its businesses. Financial institutions are recruiting specialized personnel to understand the pioneering cryptocurrency.
The Bitcoin community started criticizing El Salvador when it announced that it will adopt Bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender. The Central American country has been the target of questioning after President Nayib Bukele’s surprise announcement.
The nation disclosed that it is looking for technical “advice” on the pioneering cryptocurrency and its implementation. However, it is turning to banks, which goes against Bitcoin’s aim to transform the way of seeing money.
Bitcoin emerged to dispense with financial institutions as intermediaries or trusted third parties. The main cryptocurrency on the market empowers people above any type of government or financial institution. For that reason, it does not need a law to operate or banks to accept it.
At the moment, El Salvador is asking banks for assistance with the regulation of Bitcoin and its operation. The government recently turned to the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) and the World Bank. Both entities are strangers to Bitcoin and have no experience with cryptocurrencies.
CABEI’s Executive President Dante Mossi recently explained that they are forming a team of “experts” in Bitcoin. In other words, the bank is unable to guide the country in its adoption of BTC. This is a problem since the Bitcoin Law will come into effect in less than three months.
The bank said that it will request its partners in Spain, South Korea, and Taiwan for information on digital assets. This situation highlights the bank’s lack of experience with Bitcoin’s operation. Therefore, “the country will not be able to receive assistance immediately as there are not many experts in Bitcoin,” said the executive.
The World Bank Cannot Provide Advice on Bitcoin
This situation with CABEI may have led El Salvador to turn to the World Bank. Salvadoran Finance Minister Alejandro Zelaya noted that the country asked the multilateral organization for “technical assistance” with Bitcoin.
The bank said that it cannot support them due to environmental, Bitcoin mining, and transparency factors. They may also not be interested in the adoption of assets that they cannot control. Besides, they have not experimented long enough with cryptocurrencies.
The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) created a type of cryptocurrency to learn how they work. The researchers developed a learning coin, with no market value, to learn about the dynamics of blockchain technology.
The Government Is Planning the Implementation of Bitcoin on the Fly
The way El Salvador is looking for “advice” highlights that it is planning the adoption of Bitcoin on the fly. The presidency has proposed this process directly instead of discussing it with local institutions.
The Bitcoin Law will come into effect shortly, so El Salvador may request help from other organizations. It should have requested assistance from Bitcoin companies, which have more experience.
An “official delegation of Bitcoin ambassadors” has begun to arrive in the country to learn about the adoption. They may be seeking to promote their businesses, under the pretext of educating about BTC. Among them is the controversial Brock Pierce of Block.One and the now-defunct Bitcoin Foundation.
By Alexander Salazar
