Since El Salvador adopted Bitcoin as legal last September, there has been speculation on which countries in the region would follow suit.
The Central Bank of Honduras (BCH) has denied rumours circulation online that the country has intentions of adopting Bitcoin as legal tender. The Central Bank’s official Twitter account issued a statement on Wednesday stressing that Bitcoin was not a regulated currency in the Central American country.
Comunicado sobre la posible adopción del Bitcoin como moneda de curso legal del país. Para mayor información: https://t.co/hIDx8DWiKp pic.twitter.com/TejuiWRO9E
— Banco Central de Honduras (@BancoCentral_HN) March 23, 2022
Referencing statements released in 2020 and 2021, the communiqué reiterated that the BCH “does not supervise or guarantee operations carried out with cryptocurrencies as means of payment in the national territory [..] Any transaction carried out with these types of virtual assets is the responsibility and risk of those who do it.”
Rumours of Honduras’ “imminent” adoption of Bitcoin started on Twitter last week. Even popular crypto advocate Max Keiser Tweeted a picture of the flag of Honduras with the caption “It’s happening…”. While there was no official statement from President Xiomara Castro’s government or the central bank, the news made rounds on crypto Twitter and some online news sites.
Since El Salvador adopted Bitcoin as legal last September, there has been speculation on which countries in the region would follow suit. A vote carried out by CoinMarketCap on which countries were likely to adopt crypto as legal currently shows Honduras at number 39.
The central bank did, however, state that research into the development of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) would continue. Such a virtual currency would be considered legal tender and be regulated by the central bank, according to the statement.
The rising popularity of crypto has resulted in governments worldwide considering the development of CBDCs. This is in a bid to avoid the perceived dangers of crypto such as its volatility, potential use in cybercrimes such as ransomware attacks and funding for crimes such as drug trafficking and terrorism. The adoption of a decentralized currency is also believed to have the potential to undermine central banks and complicate fiscal treatment.
This has not deterred some governments from considering adopting crypto as legal tender. necessitated by the ongoing war in that country, the Ukrainian government has legalized crypto. The country has reportedly received more than $50 million in crypto donations.
Other countries seem to be exploring the idea. Last month a Mexican senator revealed her intentions to introduce a bill proposing the adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender to congress. A legislator from Tonga is also working on a bill that could legalize crypto in the country by mid-2023.
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