El Salvador’s efforts to harness Bitcoin to boost its economy are falling short of what the BTC maximalists had hoped for.

Finding common ground with the International Monetary Fund, which has asked El Salvador to reverse its Bitcoin law and which could withhold financial assistance, has not happened. Many critics doubt it will, and counted among them is the nation’s former Central Reserve Bank president.

Speaking on Monday with ElSalvador.com, Carlos Acevedo, who served under Mauricio Funes from 2009 to 2013, said that stubbornly chasing a Bitcoin-based solution has cost the country dearly, “killing” relations with the IMF and making such a bond issuance virtually impossible.

“The negotiation with the fund is practically dead. It would need to be revived,” Acevedo said, referring to the country’s efforts to renegotiate its debt with the IMF. He added that “the issuance of the volcano bonds is another issue that is getting complicated for the president.”

The IMF hasn’t exactly been crypto-friendly. In a report from April, it concluded that decentralized tools like Bitcoin and DeFi could destabilize markets, especially if the adoption of crypto products and services expands. DeFi refers to blockchain-based products that enable the trading, borrowing, and lending of crypto assets without third-party intermediaries, such as banks. “DeFi lending,” according to the report, “could soon be expanded to broader financial activities, such as mortgage lending, consumer finance, and so on.” 

President Nayib Bukele, who assumed power in June 2019, is…