El Salvador abandons Bitcoin as legal tender

> The government, she assured, will continue buying bitcoin and having reserves in this cryptocurrency

Sounds like the term "Failed Experiment" is the writer's assertion and not the government official position.

“Another change makes using bitcoin entirely voluntary. (Previously, the law mandated that businesses accept bitcoin for any goods or services they provided.) Additionally, bitcoin can no longer be used to pay taxes or settle government debts.”

--https://reason.com/2025/02/03/el-salvador-walks-back-its-bit...

Sounds pretty failed to me.

They did this to receive a loan from the IMF. The IMF was withholding the loan because of BTC and would not disburse it until they got rid of its status as legal tender.

Yeah, the all so powerful IMF that can be thwarted by the incredibly difficult task of…checks notes….

not taking loans from them…

The IMF (or its donor nations) aren’t forcing anyone to take loans from them. Countries do that because the IMF offers much cheaper rates they can get anywhere else and is willing to forgive those loans far more easily than any other entity.

In return it expects certain good governance changes that are stated upfront as conditions to receive the loans you could very well get from anywhere else in the world.

Don’t like what they consider good governance? Don’t take a loan from them. Go get in the private market or the variety of nations willing to lend at far more onerous terms.