04-15-2025, 01:31 PM
Only 11% of El Salvador’s registered Bitcoin firms operational
<p style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 15px; width:240px;"><img src="https://images.cointelegraph.com/images/840_aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy5jb2ludGVsZWdyYXBoLmNvbS91cGxvYWRzLzIwMjUtMDQvMDE5NjM4YWQtZTI0Mi03OGYyLTg2YjUtMjlkODJiNGM1Zjdi.jpg"></p><p><p style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 15px; width:240px;"><img src="https://images.cointelegraph.com/images/840_aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy5jb2ludGVsZWdyYXBoLmNvbS91cGxvYWRzLzIwMjUtMDQvMDE5NjM4YWQtZTI0Mi03OGYyLTg2YjUtMjlkODJiNGM1Zjdi.jpg" alt="Only 11% of El Salvador’s registered Bitcoin firms operational"></p><p>Only 20 of the 181 Bitcoin service providers registered with El Salvador’s central bank are operational, with the rest failing to meet the country’s requirements under its Bitcoin Law. <p>Local media outlet El Mundo <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://diario.elmundo.sv/economia/el-89-de-proveedores-de-servicios-bitcoin-en-el-salvador-no-operan-segun-banco-central" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">cited</a> data from the Central Reserve Bank of El Salvador, showing that 11% of the service providers are operational. According to the central bank’s database, the rest of the providers are classified as non-operational. </p><p>The data showed that at least 22 non-operational providers have failed to meet most of the country’s <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/el-salvador-rushes-new-bitcoin-laws-comply-imf-deal-reuters" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">Bitcoin Law requirements</a>, which mandate that providers implement stringent supervision of their financial systems. </p><template data-ct-widget="buzzsprout" data-buzzsprout-podcast-id="2040516" data-buzzsprout-episode-id="16622949"></template><h2>Most of El Salvador’s Bitcoin service providers are non-operational</h2><p>El Salvador’s Bitcoin Law requires providers to maintain an Anti-Money Laundering (AML) program, keep records that accurately reflect the company’s assets, liabilities and equity and have a tailored cybersecurity program depending on the nature of its services. </p><p>The data showed that 89% of the registered providers have failed to meet some of these obligations to be classified as operational. </p><p>Still, a few firms have satisfied the legal criteria, including the state-backed Chivo Wallet and companies including Crypto Trading & Investment and Fintech Américas.</p><p><em><strong>Related: </strong></em><a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/cathie-wood-kick-off-el-salvador-ai-education-program" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null"><em><strong>Cathie Wood to kick off El Salvador’s AI public education program</strong></em></a></p><h2>El Salvador’s Bitcoin experiment</h2><p>In 2021, El Salvador became the first country to <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/september-7-is-bitcoin-day-in-el-salvador-as-btc-becomes-legal-tender" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">accept Bitcoin as legal tender</a> along with the US dollar. This move made Bitcoin integral to El Salvador President Nayib Bukele’s economic strategy. </p><p>However, the Central American country recently <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/el-salvador-bitcoin-payment-voluntary-imf-loan-deal" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">signed a deal</a> with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on a $1.4 billion loan in exchange for rolling back some of its Bitcoin-related efforts. Under the agreement, taxes will be paid in US dollars and public institutions will limit their use of Bitcoin.</p><p>On March 3, the IMF asked the country to <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/imf-el-salvador-no-voluntary-bitcoin-accumulation-public-sector" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">stop its public sector Bitcoin buys</a>. Still, Bukele said the government will <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/el-salvador-president-bukele-bitcoin-buying-to-continue-imf-deal" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">continue to purchase Bitcoin</a>, seemingly contradicting its IMF deal.</p><p>The IMF deal prompted speculation about whether the country would <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/bukele-bitcoin-imf-loan-agreement" rel="" target="_self" text="null" title="https://cointelegraph.com/news/bukele-bitcoin-imf-loan-agreement">rescind Bitcoin’s status as legal tender</a>. John Dennehy, an El Salvador-based Bitcoin activist and educator, said in an X Space with Cointelegraph that a rollback law changing Bitcoin’s legal status is set to take effect on April 30.</p><iframe width="100%" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aBn8nvGdw34?start=" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen loading="lazy"></iframe><p><em><strong>Magazine: </strong></em><a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/memecoin-degeneracy-is-funding-groundbreaking-anti-aging-research/" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null"><em><strong>Memecoin degeneracy is funding groundbreaking anti-aging research</strong></em></a></p><template data-name="subscription_form" data-type="markets_outlook" label="Subscription Form: Markets Outlook"></template><p><br></p></p>
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https://cointelegraph.com/news/el-salvad...er_inbound
<p style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 15px; width:240px;"><img src="https://images.cointelegraph.com/images/840_aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy5jb2ludGVsZWdyYXBoLmNvbS91cGxvYWRzLzIwMjUtMDQvMDE5NjM4YWQtZTI0Mi03OGYyLTg2YjUtMjlkODJiNGM1Zjdi.jpg"></p><p><p style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 15px; width:240px;"><img src="https://images.cointelegraph.com/images/840_aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy5jb2ludGVsZWdyYXBoLmNvbS91cGxvYWRzLzIwMjUtMDQvMDE5NjM4YWQtZTI0Mi03OGYyLTg2YjUtMjlkODJiNGM1Zjdi.jpg" alt="Only 11% of El Salvador’s registered Bitcoin firms operational"></p><p>Only 20 of the 181 Bitcoin service providers registered with El Salvador’s central bank are operational, with the rest failing to meet the country’s requirements under its Bitcoin Law. <p>Local media outlet El Mundo <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://diario.elmundo.sv/economia/el-89-de-proveedores-de-servicios-bitcoin-en-el-salvador-no-operan-segun-banco-central" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">cited</a> data from the Central Reserve Bank of El Salvador, showing that 11% of the service providers are operational. According to the central bank’s database, the rest of the providers are classified as non-operational. </p><p>The data showed that at least 22 non-operational providers have failed to meet most of the country’s <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/el-salvador-rushes-new-bitcoin-laws-comply-imf-deal-reuters" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">Bitcoin Law requirements</a>, which mandate that providers implement stringent supervision of their financial systems. </p><template data-ct-widget="buzzsprout" data-buzzsprout-podcast-id="2040516" data-buzzsprout-episode-id="16622949"></template><h2>Most of El Salvador’s Bitcoin service providers are non-operational</h2><p>El Salvador’s Bitcoin Law requires providers to maintain an Anti-Money Laundering (AML) program, keep records that accurately reflect the company’s assets, liabilities and equity and have a tailored cybersecurity program depending on the nature of its services. </p><p>The data showed that 89% of the registered providers have failed to meet some of these obligations to be classified as operational. </p><p>Still, a few firms have satisfied the legal criteria, including the state-backed Chivo Wallet and companies including Crypto Trading & Investment and Fintech Américas.</p><p><em><strong>Related: </strong></em><a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/cathie-wood-kick-off-el-salvador-ai-education-program" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null"><em><strong>Cathie Wood to kick off El Salvador’s AI public education program</strong></em></a></p><h2>El Salvador’s Bitcoin experiment</h2><p>In 2021, El Salvador became the first country to <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/september-7-is-bitcoin-day-in-el-salvador-as-btc-becomes-legal-tender" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">accept Bitcoin as legal tender</a> along with the US dollar. This move made Bitcoin integral to El Salvador President Nayib Bukele’s economic strategy. </p><p>However, the Central American country recently <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/el-salvador-bitcoin-payment-voluntary-imf-loan-deal" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">signed a deal</a> with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on a $1.4 billion loan in exchange for rolling back some of its Bitcoin-related efforts. Under the agreement, taxes will be paid in US dollars and public institutions will limit their use of Bitcoin.</p><p>On March 3, the IMF asked the country to <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/imf-el-salvador-no-voluntary-bitcoin-accumulation-public-sector" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">stop its public sector Bitcoin buys</a>. Still, Bukele said the government will <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/el-salvador-president-bukele-bitcoin-buying-to-continue-imf-deal" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">continue to purchase Bitcoin</a>, seemingly contradicting its IMF deal.</p><p>The IMF deal prompted speculation about whether the country would <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/bukele-bitcoin-imf-loan-agreement" rel="" target="_self" text="null" title="https://cointelegraph.com/news/bukele-bitcoin-imf-loan-agreement">rescind Bitcoin’s status as legal tender</a>. John Dennehy, an El Salvador-based Bitcoin activist and educator, said in an X Space with Cointelegraph that a rollback law changing Bitcoin’s legal status is set to take effect on April 30.</p><iframe width="100%" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aBn8nvGdw34?start=" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen loading="lazy"></iframe><p><em><strong>Magazine: </strong></em><a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/memecoin-degeneracy-is-funding-groundbreaking-anti-aging-research/" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null"><em><strong>Memecoin degeneracy is funding groundbreaking anti-aging research</strong></em></a></p><template data-name="subscription_form" data-type="markets_outlook" label="Subscription Form: Markets Outlook"></template><p><br></p></p>
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https://cointelegraph.com/news/el-salvad...er_inbound