⚖️ Regulation & Legal: Crypto Legal Tender

El Salvador’s decision to scale back Bitcoin as legal tender, announced on 27 April 2024, follows sustained pressure from the IMF and concerns over volatility and fiscal risk. The policy shift removes the mandatory 1 % tax on Bitcoin transactions and reverts the national currency to the U.S. dollar for most payments, but it preserves a limited use of Bitcoin for cross‑border remittances. The move is likely to dampen local crypto‑exchange volume and reduce the country’s influence on global Bitcoin liquidity. Investors should monitor potential regulatory tightening in other emerging markets that may emulate El Salvador’s earlier experiment, especially if IMF‑backed fiscal reviews continue. In Russia, the 15 March 2024 decree legalizing crypto assets for use in domestic and international transactions removes previous restrictions on holding and trading. The new framework allows exchanges to operate without a banking license, provided they register with the Central Bank and comply with AML/KYC.