- Deal terms will make it voluntary for businesses to accept Bitcoin for payments.
- El Salvador made Bitcoin a legal tender in 2021 defying warnings by the IMF.
El Salvador is expected to drop a legal requirement mandating businesses to accept Bitcoin (BTC) as a form of payment. The rule change is part of an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which will see El Salvador secure a $1.3 billion loan deal.
A report by the Financial Times says the deal could be finalized in the next two to three weeks. Upon the agreement, businesses will accept Bitcoin as a voluntary payment method. The deal will also unlock an additional $1 billion in World Bank lending and another $1 billion from the Inter-American Development Bank.
See Related: ‘A Complete Ban on Crypto Not off the Table’; IMF Chief Calls for More Regulations in the Sector
Yielding To Pressure From IMF On Bitcoin Adoption
El Salvador became the first country to adopt Bitcoin as a legal tender in September 2021. The adoption defied warnings by the IMF, with the institution warning of financial stability risks it posed to the economy.
Since 2021, El Salvador has been accumulating Bitcoins, totaling over 5,940 as of November 2024. The government also disclosed that its total Bitcoin reserves value had risen to over $600 million, representing a gain of 127%. However, most Salvadoreans have yet to adopt Bitcoin in everyday applications.