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Johns Hopkins Economist, a Bitcoin Critic, Praises Paraguay’s Hesitation to Implement the Coin as Legal Tender

source-logo  cryptogazette.com 28 June 2021 20:07, UTC

​As countries around the world start to show interest in making Bitcoin legality, Johns Hopkins University economist Steve Hanke was one of the latest prominent figures who expressed his opinion on Paraguayan politician Carlitos Rejala’s decision regarding BTC.

More particularly, the economist talked to a Reuters news article, which stated that the Paraguayan congressman is trying to implement a bill that regulates crypto assets. The fact that Carlitos Rejala is still working on the bill means that the country is not yet prepared for the implementation of BTC as a payment method. Rejala’s decision to regulate the cryptocurrency was addressed positively by Hanke, with the economist calling this approach a ‘good idea.’

It looks like the backlash to El Salvador's #Bitcoin legal tender (actually, FORCED tender) law has scared some sense into Paraguayan Congressman @carlitosrejala. He now admits that he's not trying to make bitcoin legal tender. Good idea.https://t.co/t4eKL7CKZ3

— Steve Hanke (@steve_hanke) June 27, 2021

The economist from Johns Hopkins said that the news from El Salvador seems to have scared the congressman from Paraguay, and he has now decided to change the method. Carlitos Rejala previously stated in a tweet that his country would pass regulations concerning crypto assets and Bitcoin in July of this year. The announcement on Twitter was viewed by many as a decision by the Latin American nation to accept BTC as an official payment means.

In the last few weeks, several Latin American countries, including El Salvador and Paraguay, have been increasingly advocating for the idea of adopting cryptocurrencies as an official method of payment.

Steve Hanke is known as one of the most renowned critics of Bitcoin. For instance, he condemned the recent decision of the El Salvadorian government and its President Naib Buquele to make the crypto coin a means of payment. The economist called the bill ‘stupid,’ as he criticized the solution. 

As per the economist, only corrupt Latin American countries will accept the crypto coin as a payment method. All those harsh and critical statements made by Hanke are rather puzzling, and the cryptocurrency community perceives them as ambiguous.

cryptogazette.com