Honduras denies rumors of recognition of BTC as a legal tender

Although it has been reported that Honduras was supposedly planning to follow in El Salvador’s footsteps and adopt BTC as legal tender, this should not happen.

As highlighted by the Central Bank of Honduras (BCH) in note released on Wednesday (23), there are no plans in this regard. The BCH stressed that the BTC is a financial asset that is currently unregulated in the country.

In addition, the financial authority pointed out that in most countries cryptocurrency is not legal tender. In fact, the only country where BTC is adopted as a currency is El Salvador.

Notice on the possibility of adopting BTC as the legal tender of the country. For more information: https://t.co/hIDx8DWiKp pic.twitter.com/TejuiWRO9E

— Central Bank of Honduras (@BancoCentral_HN) March 23, 2022

Banco de Honduras also emphasized that it is the only issuer of banknotes and coins that are legal tender on national territory, with the Lempira being the only currency unit in Honduras.

Honduras – CBDC yes, BTC no

Furthermore, the entity reinforced that in several communiqués issued since 2018, it was established that Central bank of Honduras (BCH) does not supervise or guarantee operations carried out with cryptocurrencies as a means of payment in the national territory.

In other words, any transaction carried out with this type of assets is the responsibility and risk of the person performing it.

Finally, the bank said it understands the importance of the technology and is continuing to assess the possibility of issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC):

“We reiterate that BCH, considering the importance of adopting technological innovation for the provision of payments and financial services, continues with the conceptual, technical and legal study and analysis to determine the feasibility of issuing a central bank digital currency, which has the characteristic of being recognized as legal tender in the country. And therefore it is regulated and supported by BCH.”

BTC Supporters React

On Twitter, the publication BCH received numerous responses. While some fear that the country will adopt BTC as its currency, others see it as the only possibility of independence for the Honduran people:

“BTC is the only opportunity to claim its independence from the US and the IMF. Rejecting it vis-à-vis other Latin American countries is guaranteeing that its people will remain poor in the future. Good luck to the people of Honduras.” tweeted the user @brentdavis.

Meanwhile, @WilliamWaap summed up:

“In short, they will not adopt BTC as it is a decentralized currency with finite value. This removes the possibility for the bank to issue currency at will to generate inflation. What they want to do is create a fake virtual currency that they can flip at will.”