The regional bank on Thursday announced a public tender to hire a consultancy for the implementation of the Bitcoin Law. Deadline to receive offers closes September 14.
Nearly three months after the Bitcoin Act was passed and just 11 days before it comes into force, the government will receive assistance from the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) to hire a consulting firm that will develop an “in-depth diagnosis of the ecosystem. of Bitcoin “to then propose the necessary regulatory and legal frameworks to increase the penetration and adoption of this digital currency in the country.
Although the Government has already asked the Assembly for money to implement Bitcoin and has announced 200 ATMs to convert digital currency to dollars, in the document containing the terms of reference for hiring the consultancy it has released the CABEI exposes the shortcomings that the Executive has had to implement Bitcoin, the law has been criticized for being approved inconsistently and without any prior study.
Among the hurdles the Bukele government admits are the inadequate understanding they have had not only of citizens, but also of public officials, businessmen, and policymakers themselves in adopting the use of Bitcoin as a legal tender.
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It is also noted that there are no regulatory frameworks to address recent legislation and such essential points as access to technology. “The GOES recognizes the importance of addressing these obstacles and has requested technical and financial support from the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) to address the issues through this technical cooperation,” the agency’s document said. .
All these shortcomings have been exposed by renowned lawyers, economists and international organizations who since they learned of Bukele’s proposal have insisted on the risks to the national economy of adopting Bitcoin as a legal tender, in this way a speculative asset the price varies every minute and carries out operations in a decentralized manner, ie outside the formal financial system.
The CABEI is the only financial body to have supported the Bukele project, as others such as the World Bank rejected the government’s request to provide them with technical assistance due to “transparency deficiencies”.
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Upon learning of the announcement for the consultancy, economist Tatiana Marroquín posted on her Twitter account that the CABEI has listed barriers to penetration “that have been mentioned for some time and that even the officials of the GOES WINTER. “
Regulation will not be ready on September 7th
However, the regulations coming out of this consultancy will not be ready on September 7, when the law comes into force.
Although the law itself and the Government set 90 days for a regulation to be drafted for its implementation, the terms of reference of the CBEI indicate that it will take at least 75 days to have a final document.
On 14 September the CABEI will close the deadline for receiving tenders for the consultancy and once the body has made the evaluation of the tenders, the contracted consultant will have 75 days to submit a report on the subject.
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The consultancy will cost up to $ 85,000, depending on the financial proposals submitted to you.
Until now, only a technical regulation was known to implement the Bitcoin Law aimed at banks and which has been published for consultation in the Central Reserve Bank. However, major businesses and sectors such as exporters, industrialists and freight carriers are concerned because the law states that it will be mandatory to receive it as a form of payment and to date there is no document indicating how it should be to use.
Houses and ATMs without regulation
Even without a formal diagnosis of Bitcoin, the government has launched a fundraiser and built booths at ATMs to convert digital currency to dollars and deliver money in bitcoins to those who use the state’s virtual wallet. ” Goat “.
Last week the Treasury asked the Legislature to redirect money from a CABI loan to enter the 2021 budget and use $ 205.3 million to implement Bitcoin. With this money a $ 150 million Trust will be created which will be managed by Bandesal for the convertibility of the currency; $ 30 million for the $ 30 voucher to download the Chivo app, among other expenses. And without revealing costs or which company has hired, the Government has built booths in municipal parks for the use of Bitcoin ATMs.