El Salvador minister says it’s too early to use Bitcoin for wages

El Salvador’s Minister of Labor and Social Welfare has said that the country is not yet ready to adopt Bitcoin (BTC) for salary payments.

In a Wednesday tweet, Rolando Castro denied local reports which claimed that his ministry had begun analyzing the possibility of Bitcoin-based salaries with officials from the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Economy on Monday. 

Castro stressed that he was just answering a question, stating that it was “too premature to talk about wages.” The official added that he is now focused on finding more and better jobs for El Salvadoreans. “Monetary issues fall under the economic cabinet, and I’m not part of it,” he noted.

The minister's remarks came a week after El Salvador passed President Nayib Bukele’s bill making Bitcoin legal tender in the country. Crypto influencers have since flocked to the small Central American nation to meet with Bukele.

Rolled into El Salvador to a kings welcome thanks to El Presidente. The #Bitcoin delegation has arrived and history is being made thanks to the hardwork of the people of @Bitcoinbeach pic.twitter.com/ySfOu06IeW

— Ray “Uwaifo” Youssef (@raypaxful) June 15, 2021

Related: Remittance firms hesitant to support BTC despite legal tender law in El Salvador

As previously reported, El Salvador’s 2001 Law of Monetary Integration, which provided a legal basis for replacing the Salvadorean colón with the United States dollar, stipulates that salaries and fees may only be paid in colónes or dollars. It’s still unclear whether the approval of Bitcoin as legal tender in El Salvador would expand upon existing law or replace it. President Nayib Bukele’s draft of the law states that “tax contributions can be paid in Bitcoin” and “for accounting purposes, the USD will be used as the reference currency.”