The International Monetary Fund urged El Salvador to reverse its decision to use Bitcoin as a legal tender in the country, citing large financial and market integrity risks posed by cryptocurrency.

According to the IMF press release, the IMF Executive Directors stressed that there are large risks associated with the use of Bitcoin on financial stability, financial integrity, and consumer protection including the fiscal contingent liabilities. The bank urged the authorities to narrow the scope of the Bitcoin law by removing Bitcoin’s legal tender status.

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IMF said the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted ten years of growth but El Salvador is quickly recovering.

“Robust external demand, resilient remittances, and a sound management of the pandemic–with the help of a disbursement under the Rapid Financing Instrument approved in April 2020–are supporting a strong recovery,” the IMF said as reported by ANI.

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Against this backdrop, the fund said public debt vulnerabilities emerged and persistent fiscal deficits are leading to large and increasing financing needs, reported ANI.

IMF said, the adoption of a cryptocurrency as a legal tender involves large risks for financial and market integrity, financial stability, and consumer protection and can also create contingent liabilities.

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El Salvador in September became the first and only country to accept Bitcoin as a legal tender and using it for all transactions, alongside the US dollar. Last year, El Salvador reached out to the IMF for a $1.3 billion loan but bitcoin’s legal tender status came in the way of further discussions.

El Salvador started buying bitcoin last year when it was trading at around $50,000 per token and according to Bloomberg estimates the country has bought at least 1,801 coins. Last Friday, the country purchased 410 bitcoin for $15 million. Bitcoin has dropped nearly 50% since it reached its highest in early November, which resulted in a $20 million loss for El Salvador.

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President Nayib Bukele’s adoption of bitcoin faced widespread protests as Salvador citizens complained that it would benefit investors and not regular people in the country, where nearly half of the population does not have internet access.