Bitcoin’s Proposed “Legal Tender” Faces Its First Legal Hurdle

El Salvador’s initiative of Bitcoin Legal Tender got to see the first hurdle when a representative of the ruling government has moved a lawsuit against the initiative. The plaintiff has argued in the suit that proceeding further in the matter by the Government would only worsen the economy. He claimed that there is no such thing as “legal tender” provided for in the constitution of El Salvador therefore any attempt to legalize a highly speculative asset at the cost and expense of the general public, would be in violation of the constitution and the law.

While El Salvador is on the path of ensuring safe and efficient legalization of Bitcoin Tender but hurdles will continue to show up.

Jaime Guevara is a person who is part of the ruling Government in El Salvador. The representative has reportedly filed a court suit against the Government. In the suit, the plaintiff has asked the court to stop the government from proceeding further in the matter. He alleged that there is no such thing called “legal tender”, provided for in the constitution. Any action taken in this regard would be the nullity of law, against the constitution and the law.

Another person named Oscar Artero too has joined the suit proceedings by becoming a party to the suit as one of the plaintiffs. Artero too has agreed to the argument raised by Guevara that the legalization of Bitcoin is an act forbidden under the constitution. He is hopeful that when the case will come up before the court for the hearing, the matter will be decided in favor of the plaintiffs. He claimed that there is no way that the argument raised in the lawsuit will be ignored by any court anywhere in the world. If an act is constitutionally violative, then no court in the world has the power to make such an act legal.

Artero further claimed that the initiative has been taken only to misguide the citizens. Meanwhile, any profit earnings will land into the pockets of the politicians, rich and elite, and the influential. They actually want to use people by encouraging them to invest in a risky business and fill their pockets, claimed Artero.

The plaintiff has lodged the suit at the time when the Government announced initiating the process of drafting the necessary law. However, in reality, no proposed law has been prepared by the Government yet. In this situation, whether the court would be able to declare a “proposed law” to be illegal is a big question mark. On the face of it, it seems as if the suit has no jurisdiction at all nor is it entertainable.

Although the lawsuit has been registered no date has so far been fixed for hearing.