- El Salvador is today hosting a 44-country financial forum
- Banking representatives from countries including Egypt and Jordan will discuss financial matters, including Bitcoin
- The Central African Republic adopted Bitcoin as legal tender two weeks ago
El Salvador will this week play host to representatives from 44 countries to discuss financial matters, including how the country’s Bitcoin rollout has benefitted them. El Salvador president Nayib Bukele tweeted about the symposium late on Sunday night, listing the countries that would be attending, which included representatives from Egypt, Jordan, and Pakistan, as well as numerous African countries. The meeting comes two weeks after the Central African Republic announced that it was adopting Bitcoin as legal tender, which the International Monetary Fund said raised “major legal, transparency, and economic policy challenges”.
Tomorrow, 32 central banks and 12 financial authorities (44 countries) will meet in El Salvador to discuss financial inclusion, digital economy, banking the unbanked, the #Bitcoin rollout and its benefits in our country.
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) May 16, 2022
El Salvador to Accentuate the Positive on Bitcoin
President Bukele explained in Sunday’s tweet thread that the representatives would be discussing “financial inclusion, digital economy, banking the unbanked, the Bitcoin rollout and its benefits in our country.” El Salvador’s headline-making Bitcoin rollout has not been without its challenges, such as faulty Chivo machines, bitcoin going missing, and reports of low uptake, but this hasn’t stopped the country and its ruler from pushing the narrative.
Today’s conference will be the latest effort in this campaign to spread the word about Bitcoin, and with financial representatives from countries the size of Egypt attending, the likes of the IMF and the World Economic Forum will be very concerned that more countries will get on board the Bitcoin train and the snowball that El Salvador started will keep getting bigger.
IMF Will be Worried About Snowball Effect
In adopting Bitcoin last week, the Central African Republic government said that it hoped adopting Bitcoin as a legal tender would spur economic recovery and growth, while also helping to stabilize a country that has been wracked by a decade-long civil war.
If Bitcoin helps achieve this in the country any way then the likes of the IMF should be very worried indeed.
