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Bipartisan Senate Proposal Raises Alarm Over El Salvador's Bitcoin Adoption
The legislation quickly drew a sharp rebuke from El Salvador President Nayib Bukele.
Updated May 11, 2023, 6:39 p.m. Published Feb 16, 2022, 11:16 p.m.
Senators Jim Risch, Bob Menendez and Bill Cassidy's Accountability for Cryptocurrency in El Salvador (ACES) Act would require a State Department report on mitigating risks to the U.S. financial system from El Salvador's adoption of bitcoin as legal tender.
- "El Salvador recognizing bitcoin as official currency opens the door for money laundering cartels and undermines U.S. interests," said Bill Cassidy (R-La.). "If the United States wishes to combat money laundering and preserve the role of the dollar as a reserve currency of the world, we must tackle this issue head on."
- If passed, the bill would require the State Department to report on a laundry list of subjects with respect to El Salvador and bitcoin, including the flow of remittances from the U.S. to El Salvador, bilateral and international efforts to combat transnational illicit activities, and the potential for reduced use by El Salvador of the greenback.
- Menendez (D-N.J.) is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Risch (R-Idaho) is the ranking member. (Cassidy is not on the committee.)
- The move quickly drew a partly comic, partly angry response from El Salvador President Nayib Bukele: "OK boomers ... You have zero jurisdiction on a sovereign and independent nation. We are not your colony, your back yard or your front yard. Stay out of our internal affairs. Don't try to control something you can't control."
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What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
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U.S. Banking Regulator Warns Wall Street on 'Debanking,' Claims Practices 'Unlawful'
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency probed debanking of certain industries, including digital assets, and said it'll pursue any repeat of such activity.
What to know:
- The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which regulates U.S. national banks, released a report on so-called "debanking" of industries including crypto, saying that Wall Street banks have been guilty and may be subject to punishment.
- The report comes as a response to President Donald Trump's executive order in August directing regulators to probe debanking.
- It's unclear what legal authority the OCC may cite to pursue cases against bankers who violate the agency's standards.
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