The central bank of Honduras says there are no such plans, although it acknowledges that it is investigating the feasibility of a central bank digital currency (CBDC).
Bitcoin as legal tender chatter in the country had dominated the Crypto Twitter chatter for much of the week.
The Central Bank of Honduras (BCH) released a statement noting that the country is not ready to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender.
In one official statement published on Wednesday, the central bank maintained that it was the sole authority in Honduras responsible for issuing legal tender currency.
The bank’s notice follows a few days of heightened talk on Crypto Twitter and other social platforms that Honduras was set to follow neighboring El Salvador in adopting BTC as legal tender.
” At the moment Bitcoin in our country is not regulated the bank said in comments referring to the regulation and use of virtual assets in the country.
The statement then clarified that BCH does not ” did not supervise or guarantee transactions carried out with cryptocurrencies as a means of payment “.
According to the central bank, it is the users who will bear the responsibility and risks that may be associated with any transactions made using crypto assets.
But while the bank dismissed the BTC legal tender issue as rumors, it acknowledged that it was looking into the possibility of launching a central bank digital currency (CBDC).
If and when such a CBDC is issued, then it would become legal tender and appropriate regulations would be instituted to streamline its use within the law.
El Salvador remains the only sovereign nation to enshrine Bitcoin as legal tender in its laws, with its Bitcoin Law coming into effect in September 2021.
Alex Gladstein, director of strategy for the nonprofit Human Rights Foundation (HRF), says the Honduran government’s position and decision to go with a CBDC is probably what most governments ” choose”. But he notes that this only “highlights how exceptional BTC adoption in El Salvador truly is.”
Honduras appears to be taking a pass on Bitcoin, and is instead going the Central Bank Digital Currency route.
Choosing monetary control over monetary freedom.
This is the likely move for most governments, and underscores how exceptional BTC adoption in El Salvador really is https://t.co/4THd0C5NUp
— Alex Gladstein ? ⚡ (@gladstein) March 23, 2022
Bitcoin price was around $42,510 at the time of writing, up 8% in the past week.