El Salvador’s dollar-denominated bonds have fallen to an all-time low as the Central American nation’s debt started trading in "distressed territory" this week. El Salvador’s USD bonds fell to 64.4 cents to the dollar on Monday, Nov. 22, following the weekend news that the Central American country would use Bitcoin (BTC) bonds to fund its Bitcoin City initiative. Dollar bonds have fallen steadily since April 2021 when they topped $1.10 according to Bloomberg data. A dollar-denominated bond is a bond issued outside of the United States by a foreign company or government, that is denominated in USD instead of their …

Douglas Rodriguez, president of the Central Reserve Bank of El Salvador, has dismissed fears that the country adopting Bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender will scupper plans for a $1.3-billion loan facility from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). According to Bloomberg on Tuesday, Rodriguez stated that the central bank does not see any risks associated with the Bitcoin Law even as it prepares to secure an extended loan facility from the IMF. Indeed, the central bank described El Salvador’s Bitcoin Law as only having “upside risks,” with Rodriguez stating that a BTC bull run could help the country’s economy expand by …

The International Monetary Fund’s Financial Stability Board said the growing adoption of cryptocurrencies could potentially increase the risks to the global economy. In its Global Financial Stability Report released on Tuesday, the International Monetary Fund, or IMF, said the adoption of crypto assets and stablecoins in emerging markets and developing economies could pose a challenge to those countries’ macroeconomic and financial stability. The group said the risks were “contained for now,” but urged regulators to monitor cryptocurrencies and keep them in check. The IMF added that as the crypto space expanded and evolved, “new sources of risk” were emerging, such …

There is nothing surprising about Senator Cynthia Lummis, a Wyoming Republican known to be among the staunchest crypto supporters in the U.S. legislature, revealing a sizable Bitcoin (BTC) purchase that she had made earlier in the summer. It is still oddly satisfying to observe the alignment between a politician’s long-declared stance on an issue and corresponding monetary behavior (Lummis had been hodling BTC since 2013). Such consistency will be a norm in blockchain-based governance systems where individuals’ interests are aligned with those of the entire community and where all information that could be of remote public interest is transparent. Below …

International Monetary Fund, or IMF, managing director Kristalina Georgieva said more than half of all central banks in the world are exploring how to launch digital currencies. Speaking at a virtual conference hosted by Bocconi University on Oct. 5, Georgieva said the IMF was looking at central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs, and digital currencies as a whole from the perspective of macroeconomic stability. She said the technology had given people the opportunity to make “seamless, and less costly” transfers, and called CBDCs the most reliable form of digital currency, given they had “backing of the state” and were generally …

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) released a set of policies for the emerging markets and developing economies to ensure financial stability amid global crypto adoption. The IMF believes in the potential of crypto assets as a tool for faster and cheaper cross-border payments, citing the dramatic increase in the value of the crypto markets despite the bearish trends from May 2021. The report attributes high returns, transaction costs and speed and reduced Anti-Money Laundering (AML) standards as the primary drivers for crypto adoption. To counter the resultant financial stability challenges as a result of increased trading of crypto assets, IMF …

Credit rating agency Standard and Poor (S&P) Global believes the country of El Salvador has severely harmed its credit rating after enacting its Bitcoin Law recognizing Bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender nationwide on Sept. 7. According to a report from Reuters Thursday, El Salvador’s Bitcoin embrace exposes its economy to significant financial risks and could pose challenges for the country’s lending industry. The credit agency also believes the move could also dampen El Salvador’s chances of securing a $1-billion loan agreement it is seeking from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). “The risks associated with the adoption of bitcoin as legal …

Global payment network Roxe has recruited a seasoned economist from the International Monetary Fund, or IMF, to help lead its central bank digital currency project backed by Bitcoin’s (BTC) hashrate. Andreas Jobst, whose career spans the IMF, World Bank and Bermuda Monetary Authority, has been appointed as Roxe’s chief currency economist, the company announced Wednesday. Jobst will be tasked with helping to scale Roxe’s CBDC Plus Program and payment network, which allows countries to issue new primary or secondary fiat currencies backed by the computational power of Bitcoin. Jobst’s most recent appointment at the IMF was an unspecified role in …

In her monthly Expert Take column, Selva Ozelli, an international tax attorney and CPA, covers the intersection between emerging technologies and sustainability, and provides the latest developments around taxes, AML/CFT regulations and legal issues affecting crypto and blockchain. Since 2013, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD, has been discussing the base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) risks of large multinational enterprises (MNEs) — risks arising from the digitalization of the global economy. BEPS 2.0 reports came out in 2018 and 2019, aiming to ensure a fairer distribution of the rights to tax the profits of large MNEs, …

The International Monetary Fund, or IMF, plans to “step up” its monitoring of digital currencies, according to a report by Reuters. This intent, as published in an IMF paper Thursday, details how the fund plans to “manage this far-reaching and complex transition” toward a digitized economy. “Rapid technological innovation is ushering in a new era of public and private digital money,” the report reads, highlighting the benefits of digital assets. “Payments will become easier, faster, cheaper, and more accessible, and will cross borders swiftly. These improvements could foster efficiency and inclusion, with major benefits for all.” Related: IMF plans to …

The International Monetary Fund is warning that some of the consequences of a country adopting Bitcoin as a national currency “could be dire.” According to IMF marketing department financial counsellor and director Tobias Adrian and legal department general counsel and director Rhoda Weeks-Brown, a cryptocurrency like Bitcoin (BTC) may catch on in countries without stable inflation and exchange rates and provide unbanked people with the means to make payments. However, the cost to an economy could be significant. The two IMF officials alleged that countries adopting cryptocurrencies as national currencies or “granting cryptoassets legal tender status” risked domestic prices becoming …

In a joint report, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) have proposed to the G20 that a cross-border network of central bank digital currencies (CBDC), underpinned by efficient technological integration and proactive international cooperation, could be of significant benefit to the world economy. The report focuses on broadening the horizon beyond central banks’ individual studies of CBDCs for domestic needs, emphasizing that it is crucial to coordinate work at a global scale and to find common ground between various national efforts to reap the full benefits of digital currency. If tackled …