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A comment on El Salvador abandons Bitcoin as legal tender after failed experiment. Parent comment

Re:El Salvador abandons Bitcoin as legal tender after failed... by bawolff on Monday February 03, 2025 @08:19PM (#42926133)
That's not really how that works. IMF can demand their loan be repaid in whatever currency they want. Its totally normal for international loans to be denominated in a currency other than the recipient's legal tender, particularly for high risk countries (although that is usually bad for the recipient)
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Re:El Salvador abandons Bitcoin as legal tender after failed... by chrisco255 on Monday February 03, 2025 @08:27PM (#42926212)
In particular El Salvador doesn't even have its own legal tender and haven't for a long time. They use the US dollar.
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Re:El Salvador abandons Bitcoin as legal tender after failed... by throwaway314155 on Monday February 03, 2025 @08:38PM (#42926340)
They don't want Bitcoin in exchange. Seems entirely reasonable to me given how much the value of cryptocurrency fluctuates with low predictability. They could get paid in it one day and lose half the value the next.
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Re:El Salvador abandons Bitcoin as legal tender after failed... by ty6853 on Monday February 03, 2025 @08:55PM (#42926517)
This is why otc tradfi crypto futures are needed. You can buy a train car full of corn a year out trivially on a liquid futures market, regardless if corn prices fluctuate wildly you will pay what was agreed. Listing BTC derivatives would solve the predictability for fixed loan terms.
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Re:El Salvador abandons Bitcoin as legal tender after failed... by bboygravity on Tuesday February 04, 2025 @01:57AM (#42929003)
Fiat currencies also can and have lost half their value plenty of times.

Actually I can't think of any fiat currency that hasn't at least halved in value?

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Re:El Salvador abandons Bitcoin as legal tender after failed... by graemep on Tuesday February 04, 2025 @06:57AM (#42931248)
Usually over a long time. They are a lot less volatile than Bitcoin.

You can also offset the risks of sudden devaluation through matching assets and liabilities, trading derivatives and so on.

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