Reports have emerged that El Salvador is scaling back its plans to make Bitcoin legal tender due to pressure from the International Monetary Fund. The country is currently in talks with the IMF to secure a $1.3 billion loan, and it is expected that the deal will require changes to its Bitcoin Law.
This would mean that businesses will no longer be required to accept Bitcoin as payment, and it will become a voluntary payment method.
The agreement is expected to be finalized in the next few weeks, and it is believed that it will also unlock $1 billion in lending from the World Bank and another $1 billion from the Inter-American Development Bank over the next few years.
The IMF has been against El Salvador’s adoption of Bitcoin from the beginning, citing concerns about financial stability. Discussions between the IMF and the Salvadoran government on the loan and potential changes to the Bitcoin Law have been ongoing since October 2024.
