A brief history of El Salvador’s crypto-currency battle with the International Monetary Fund

<p>Investing in cryptocurrency is a dangerous endeavour - all the more so when you're wagering on a country's future. Nonetheless, it is a risk that El Salvador's president is eager to take.</p> <p>Nayib Bukele's bitcoin spending spree has been welcomed by crypto enthusiasts but slammed in the traditional financial world.</p> <p>The IMF has been one of his most strident critics. The International Monetary Fund has frequently pressed El Salvador to reconsider Bitcoin's legal status – much to Bukele's consternation.</p> <p>Here is a brief history of the lender's dispute with the Central American country.</p> <p>El Salvador seeks IMF money in March 2021</p> <p>Days after Bukele's ruling party secured a resounding election victory, a government official tells Reuters that El Salvador has requested $1.3 billion in IMF financing.</p> <p>Finance Minister Alejandro Zelaya believes the agreement will assist in bridging fiscal shortfalls and lowering the country's debt-related costs.</p> <p>The IMF had already made an emergency loan to El Salvador to assist with the 2020 epidemic, as it had done for a number of other nations.</p> <p>Analysts fear that bitcoin will jeopardise an IMF deal in June 2021.</p> <p>Bukele intends to legalise bitcoin as a form of payment in El Salvador.</p> <p>Proponents argue that the move will benefit Salvadorans without bank accounts, make remittances more efficient, spur economic development, and lessen the country's dependency on global financial institutions.</p> <p>The suggestion, however, raises questions about the IMF pact.</p> <p>Siobhan Morden, an analyst at Amherst Pierpoint Securities and head of Latin America fixed-income strategy, believes Bukele's remarks regarding bitcoin could derail the negotiations:</p> <p>This could be a long-term endeavour or a showy public relations stunt; yet, it demonstrates a lack of coordination through rash pronouncements that contradict a coherent economic plan.</p> <p>Congress approves a bitcoin law in June 2021</p> <p>El Salvador's Cong