ACES Act

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1578 To require reports on the adoption of cryptocurrency as legal tender in El Salvador. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 11, 2023 Mr. RISCH (for himself and Mr. MENENDEZ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations A BILL To require reports on the adoption of cryptocurrency as legal tender in El Salvador. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Accountability for 4 Cryptocurrency in El Salvador Act’’ or the ‘‘ACES Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. REPORTS ON ADOPTION OF CRYPTOCURRENCY AS 6 LEGAL TENDER IN EL SALVADOR. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days after the 8 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State 9 and the Secretary of the Treasury shall jointly submit to 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 May 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1578.IS S1578 dmwilson on DSKJM0X7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1578 IS the appropriate committees of Congress a report on the 1 adoption by the Government of El Salvador of a 2 cryptocurrency as legal tender. 3 (b) ELEMENTS.—The report required by subsection 4 (a) shall include the following: 5 (1) A description of the process followed by the 6 Government of El Salvador to develop and enact the 7 Bitcoin Law (Legislative Decree No. 57, Official 8 Record No. 110, Volume 431, enacted June 9, 9 2021), which provides the cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, 10 with legal tender status in El Salvador. 11 (2) An assessment of— 12 (A) potential gaps in the Anti-Money 13 Laundering/Combatting the Financing of Ter- 14 rorism (AML/CFT) framework in El Salvador, 15 and illicit finance risks associated with virtual 16 assets in El Salvador, including El Salvador’s 17 adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender; 18 (B) the impact on individuals and busi- 19 nesses of requiring tender of Bitcoin; and 20 (C) the impact of such adoption of a 21 cryptocurrency on— 22 (i) the macroeconomic stability and 23 public finances of El Salvador, including 24 taxation; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 May 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1578.IS S1578 dmwilson on DSKJM0X7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1578 IS (ii) the rule of law and democratic 1 governance in El Salvador; 2 (iii) the unbanked population in El 3 Salvador; 4 (iv) the flow of remittances from the 5 United States to El Salvador; 6 (v) El Salvador’s relations with multi- 7 lateral financial institutions, such as the 8 International Monetary Fund and the 9 Word Bank; 10 (vi) bilateral and international efforts 11 to combat transnational illicit activities; 12 and 13 (vii) El Salvador’s bilateral economic 14 and commercial relationship with the 15 United States and the potential for re- 16 duced use by El Salvador of the United 17 States dollar. 18 (3) A description of the internet infrastructure 19 of El Salvador and an assessment of— 20 (A) the degree to which cryptocurrency is 21 used in El Salvador; 22 (B) matters relating to chain of custody 23 and the potential for hacking and cybertheft of 24 cryptocurrency; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 May 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1578.IS S1578 dmwilson on DSKJM0X7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1578 IS (C) access to transparent and affordable 1 internet and digital infrastructure among the 2 unbanked population of El Salvador. 3 (c) FORM.—The report required by subsection (a) 4 shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include 5 a classified annex. 6 (d) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS DE- 7 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate commit- 8 tees of Congress’’ means— 9 (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations and 10 the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Af- 11 fairs of the Senate; and 12 (2) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 13 Committee on Financial Services of the House of 14 Representatives. 15 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 May 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1578.IS S1578 dmwilson on DSKJM0X7X2PROD with BILLS