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Nouriel Roubini Advises El Salvador Legislators to Impeach President Bukele

By:
Oluwapelumi Adejumo
Updated: Jan 24, 2022, 16:40 UTC

With Bitcoin currently in a bear zone, El Salvador's Bitcoin holdings have dipped by at least $20 million as of press time.

Foremost Economist Nouriel Roubini Advises El Salvador Legislators to Impeach President Bukele

When El Salvador President Nayib Bukele introduced pro-Bitcoin laws to the country and bought the flagship digital currency with its fund last year, many saw it as the start of a new era. But several individuals also kicked against it, and one of them was Nouriel Roubini.

Roubini Calls for Bukele Impeachment

The professor of Economics who has always spoken against Bitcoin recently stated that Bukele ought to be impeached for bankrupting the country with his Bitcoin investment.

This came after Moody’s downgraded El Salvador credit rating as concerns about its crypto tradings increased. With the downgrade, the country will not get the $1.3 billion loan it seriously needs from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

According to Jaime Reusche, an analyst at Moody’s, the credit rating will only keep getting worse as El Salvador increases its Bitcoin exposure. The higher it is, the riskier it would be to borrow the country’s new funds.

The Central American country has $800 million worth of dollar bonds due in January 2023. The volatility of Bitcoin and the country’s debt problems have increased the bonds’ yield by 34% already. They were also the worst-performing bonds in the world. 

With El Salvador holding at least 1,801 Bitcoin, the dip has led to criticisms from various quarters. According to some estimates, Bukele has lost over $20 million of El Salvador’s money to the dip.

Bukele Remains Undisturbed About Bitcoin dip

The self-styled CEO of El Salvador doesn’t seem to care about the dwindling fortunes of BTC. Amidst the tumbling prices, he announced that the country just bought an additional 410 units of the coin for just $15 million. In the tweet, which included several emojis, he added that the recent buy was “really cheap.”

Earlier this year, Bukele made several bullish predictions about Bitcoin, including that it’ll get to $100k. Thus, this dip-buying frenzy isn’t surprising for someone who’s very optimistic about the asset. Already, there are plans to issue Bitcoin-backed loans for businesses in the country.

While Bukele might be optimistic, those in economic circles don’t share the same views. There are also allegations of authoritarianism against the man who has called himself the world’s coolest dictator in the past.

Yesterday, he changed his Twitter profile picture to one where he was wearing a face cap from McDonald’s — a nod to the ongoing job application joke ongoing on the social media platform due to the dip of Bitcoin.

About the Author

Oluwapelumi is a firm believer in the transformative power power Bitcoin and Blockchain industry holds. He is interested in sharing knowledge and ideas about how the industry could play a pivotal role in the emerging financial system. When he is not writing, he is looking to meet new people and trying out new things.

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