ACES Act
Bill: H.R.7391 | Sponsor: Rep. Torres, Norma J. (D-CA)
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Accountability for Cryptocurrency in El Salvador Act or ACES Act
This bill requires the Department of State to devise and implement a plan to mitigate any potential risk to the U.S. financial system posed by the adoption of a cryptocurrency as legal tender in El Salvador and any other country that uses the U.S. dollar as legal tender. The State Department must report to Congress on this plan and on various issues relating to El Salvador's adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender.

To require reports on the adoption of a cryptocurrency as legal tender 
                in El Salvador, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Accountability for Cryptocurrency in 
El Salvador Act'' or ``ACES Act''.

SEC. 2. REPORTS ON ADOPTION OF CRYPTOCURRENCY AS LEGAL TENDER IN EL 
              SALVADOR.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 60 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in coordination with the 
heads of other relevant Federal departments and agencies, shall submit 
to the appropriate committees of Congress a report on the adoption by 
the Government of El Salvador of a cryptocurrency as legal tender.
    (b) Elements.--The report required by subsection (a) shall include 
the following:
            (1) A description of the process followed by the Government 
        of El Salvador to develop and enact the Bitcoin Law 
        (Legislative Decree No. 57, Official Record No. 110, Volume 
        431, enacted June 9, 2021), which provides the cryptocurrency, 
        Bitcoin, with legal tender status in El Salvador.
            (2) An assessment of--
                    (A) the regulatory framework in El Salvador with 
                respect to the adoption of a cryptocurrency as legal 
                tender and the technical capacity of El Salvador to 
                effectively mitigate the financial integrity and cyber 
                security risks associated with virtual-asset 
                transactions;
                    (B) whether the regulatory framework in El Salvador 
                meets the requirements of the Financial Action Task 
                Force with respect to virtual-asset transactions;
                    (C) the impact on individuals and businesses of 
                requiring tender of Bitcoin; and
                    (D) the impact of such adoption of a cryptocurrency 
                on--
                            (i) the macroeconomic stability and public 
                        finances of El Salvador, including taxation;
                            (ii) the rule of law and democratic 
                        governance in El Salvador;
                            (iii) the unbanked population in El 
                        Salvador;
                            (iv) the flow of remittances from the 
                        United States to El Salvador;
                            (v) El Salvador's relations with 
                        multilateral financial institutions, such as 
                        the International Monetary Fund and the Word 
                        Bank;
                            (vi) bilateral and international efforts to 
                        combat transnational illicit activities;
                            (vii) El Salvador's bilateral economic and 
                        commercial relationship with the United States 
                        and the potential for reduced use by El 
                        Salvador of the United States dollar; and
                            (viii) existing United States sanctions 
                        frameworks and the potential for the use of 
                        cryptocurrency to circumvent such sanctions.
            (3) A description of the internet infrastructure of El 
        Salvador and an assessment of--
                    (A) the degree to which cryptocurrency is used in 
                El Salvador;
                    (B) matters relating to chain of custody and the 
                potential for hacking and cybertheft of cryptocurrency; 
                and
                    (C) access to transparent and affordable internet 
                and digital infrastructure among the unbanked 
                population of El Salvador.
    (c) Plan To Mitigate Risks to United States Financial System Posed 
by Adoption of Cryptocurrency as Legal Tender in Certain Countries.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the submittal 
        of the report required by subsection (a), the Secretary of 
        State, in coordination with the heads of other relevant Federal 
        departments and agencies, shall submit to the appropriate 
        committees of Congress a plan to mitigate any potential risk to 
        the United States financial system posed by the adoption of a 
        cryptocurrency as legal tender in--
                    (A) El Salvador; and
                    (B) any other country that uses the United States 
                dollar as legal tender.
            (2) Implementation.--Not later than 30 days after the date 
        on which the plan is submitted under paragraph (1), the 
        Secretary of State shall commence implementation of the plan.
    (d) Subsequent Report.--Not later than 270 days after the submittal 
of the report required by subsection (a), the Secretary of State, in 
coordination with the heads of other relevant Federal departments and 
agencies, shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress an 
updated version of such report, including a description of any 
significant development related to the risks to the United States 
financial system posed by the use of a cryptocurrency as legal tender 
in El Salvador.
    (e) Appropriate Committees of Congress Defined.--In this section, 
the term ``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
            (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on 
        Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate; and
            (2) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on 
        Financial Services of the House of Representatives.
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