The World Bank rejected a request from El Salvador for assistance in its bid to adopt bitcoin as a currency.
The World Bank official told AFP by email that while the government did approach them for assistance on bitcoin, this is not something the World Bank can support given the environmental and transparency shortcomings.
El Salvador Finance Minister Alejandro Zelaya says that President Nayib Bukele had requested technical help from the World Bank to implement and regulate the use of virtual currency.
He stressed that the government is not replacing the US dollar with bitcoin.
The IMF also has flagged concerns about the use of cryptocurrency.
IMF spokesman Gerry Rice says the adoption of bitcoin as legal tender raises a number of macroeconomic, financial and legal issues that require very careful analysis noting the significant risks posed by crypto assets.