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Bitcoin Law Reform: Accepting BTC Is No Longer Mandatory for Your Business

By Mariela Hidalgo·4 min read
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What Changes with the Bitcoin Law Reform

On January 30, 2025, the Legislative Assembly approved a reform to the Bitcoin Law that fundamentally changes how businesses relate to this cryptocurrency: accepting Bitcoin as a payment method is no longer mandatory. The decision now belongs to each business owner.

This reform didn't come out of nowhere. It was part of negotiations between El Salvador and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which had flagged fiscal and financial risks associated with mandatory adoption since the Bitcoin Law's inception. The agreement with the IMF included, among other conditions, eliminating that requirement.

It's important to clarify what the reform does not do: Bitcoin remains legal tender in El Salvador. What changes is that the private sector is no longer required to accept it. If a customer wants to pay you in BTC, it's now up to you to decide whether to accept it or not. Previously, refusing could expose you to penalties. With the reform, that pressure disappears.

How It Affects Your Business

For businesses that never found value in accepting Bitcoin, this reform is concrete relief. The mandate came with real costs: acquiring or upgrading technology to process BTC payments, training staff, maintaining additional accounting records with BTC/USD exchange rates, and assuming the operational risk of handling a volatile asset. None of that is necessary anymore if you decide not to accept Bitcoin.

If you choose to keep accepting it, the difference is that you now do so on your own terms. You can set whatever conditions you consider appropriate: minimum or maximum amounts, hours, or any other internal policy. Voluntariness gives you flexibility you didn't have before.

For those who choose to stop accepting BTC, there's significant accounting simplification. You no longer need to record exchange rates on each transaction, you don't have to reconcile Chivo Wallet movements with your financial statements, and you eliminate the complexity of reporting gains or losses from holding digital assets. Your accounting goes back to being exclusively in dollars.

What You Should Do Now

  1. Evaluate whether continuing to accept Bitcoin makes sense for you. Not every situation is the same. If you have customers who pay in BTC regularly, if your business is in a tourist area where foreign visitors prefer Bitcoin, or if you simply want to keep that option available, it may make sense to continue. If on the other hand your BTC transaction volume was minimal and the cost of maintaining the infrastructure wasn't justified, this is your opportunity to simplify.

  2. If you stop accepting BTC, update everything visible. Remove signage indicating you accepted Bitcoin, update your point-of-sale systems so they don't offer that option, and communicate the change to your team and customers. A clean transition avoids confusion.

  3. If you continue accepting BTC, maintain your accounting controls. The fact that it's voluntary doesn't change your recording obligations. If you receive Bitcoin payments, you still need to document the exchange rate, issue correct receipts, and report transactions in your tax filings. The controls you already had in place must be maintained.

  4. Review your existing BTC records. If your business holds Bitcoin balances or has historical BTC transactions, those records remain relevant for tax purposes. Make sure everything is properly documented before closing that chapter.

Relevant Dates

The reform was approved on January 30, 2025 by the Legislative Assembly. The elimination of mandatory acceptance is effective upon publication of the decree in the Official Gazette.

Unlike other reforms, there's no deadline to make your decision here. This isn't a window that closes: voluntariness is permanent. You can stop accepting BTC today, or in six months, or never. And if you change your mind later, you can start accepting it again. It's a business decision you can adjust according to your needs.

The Decision Is Now Yours

This reform removes a burden that for many MSMEs represented more complications than benefits. For over three years, businesses of all sizes had to adapt to an obligation that didn't always fit their operational reality. Now, each business owner can evaluate their particular situation and decide what works best.

If you have questions about how to handle the transition, what to do with the BTC accounting records you already have, or if you need help evaluating the costs and benefits of continuing to accept Bitcoin, at Contabilidad Hidalgo we can guide you. We'll help you make an informed decision and execute it without complications.

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