Benoit Coeure, head of the innovation hub at the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) says that El Salvador’s move to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender is “interesting”. Coeure spoke at the launch of a regulatory research hub at the Bank of England on Friday, Reuters reports.
“We have been clear at the BIS that we don’t see bitcoin as having passed the test of being a means of payments. Bitcoin is a speculative asset and should be regulated as such,” Coeure said.
El Salvador is the First Nation in the world to recognize Bitcoin as legs tender and mandates all businesses in the country to accept it as payment.
The nation’s legislature voted in favor of President Nayib Bukele’s proposal on Tuesday. The BIS executive is but another central banker to express concern about the Latin American country’s decision to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender. The International Monetary Fund, through Gerry Rice, a spokesman, said that El Salvador’s plan to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender raises “macroeconomic, financial, and legal issues”.
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