Steve Hanke. Source: Bloomberg
More updates coming from Paraguay in terms of its possible crypto adoption indicated that the nation is actually looking for regulation instead of making BTC a legal tender. Prominent economist and cryptocurrency basher Steve Hanke was quick to applaud the reversal.
June became a historic month for the primary cryptocurrency as El Salvador announced plans to make it legal tender within its borders during the 2021 Bitcoin Conference. Although the bill faced some local and international backlash, the nation’s president, Nayib Bukele, said it will come into effect in September this year.
Shortly after this positive development coming from the small Central American country, the ball started rolling, and politicians from a few more outlined their support. Paraguay was one of them, as the Deputy of the Nation hinted and then reaffirmed that new Bitcoin legislation would be put on the table in July.
However, it seems that his word may have been misunderstood by some, as the general belief indicated that Paraguay would follow El Salvador’s route. This doesn’t seem to be the case, as Carlos Antonio Rejala Helman explained to Reuters himself.
“It is a bill of digital assets, and it differs from that of El Salvador because they are taking it as a legal currency, and in Paraguay, it will be impossible to do something like that.”
He noted that Paraguay wants to be a “crypto-friendly country,” but it will work from a side of better regulations.
“We want the regulators and banks to also participate so that Paraguayans or foreigners can operate with these assets legally because we know that illegal transactions exist here and in other countries.”
Steve Hanke, the economist who called El Salvador’s actions simply “stupid,” was quick to opine on the matter. In fact, he believes that the aforementioned backlash had actually scared “some sense” into the Paraguayan politic.
Furthermore, he classified Rejala Helman’s move to push for regulations instead of making bitcoin legal tender as a “good idea.”
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