El Salvador’s Bitcoin-boosting leader buys $ 1.5 million more

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador – El Salvador’s Bitcoin-boosting president was back at it again on Thursday, doubling the country’s losing investment in the cryptocurrency by buying over $ 1.5 million more.

President Nayib Bukele wrote on his Twitter account after posting the purchase: “Bitcoin is the future! Thank you for selling cheaply.”

Bukele said his government bought 80 Bitcoins for $ 19,000 apiece. That’s less than half the average price the government paid for its previous $ 105.6 million stake.

According to the tracking site nayibtracker.com, as of September last year, El Salvador has paid an average of almost 46,000 dollars per coin, for a loss of 56%, or around 59 million dollars.

In mid-June, after the cryptocurrency fell below $ 20,000, Bukele wrote: “I see that some people are worried or anxious about the # Bitcoin market price.”

“My advice: stop looking at the graph and enjoy life. “If you invested in #BTC, your investment is safe and the value will grow enormously after the bear market,” he wrote at the time. “Patience is the key.”

Bukele became the first leader in the world to make cryptocurrency a legal tender last year and was still a devoted booster in May, when he boasted of “buying dip” in the exchange rate. But the coin has slipped further since then.

Finance Minister Alejandro Zelaya has tried to put a good face on the situation, saying that because El Salvador has not sold any of its Bitcoins, it has not really suffered any losses.

However, most companies and governments write down the value of what accountants call an “unrealized loss”, even if they do not sell the distressed asset.

Zelaya also insisted that the Bitcoin glide does not mean much to El Salvador, saying that the investment “does not even represent 0.5% of our budget.”

It can prove difficult to sell in a country where about one-fifth of the population lives on less than $ 5.50 a day.

In January, El Salvador rejected a recommendation by the International Monetary Fund to drop Bitcoin as a legal tender.

The IMF recommended El Salvador to dissolve the $ 150 million trust fund it created when it made the cryptocurrency a legal tender and return some of that unused funds to the Treasury. The IMF cited concerns about the volatility of Bitcoin prices and the possibility of criminals using the cryptocurrency.

Bukele has identified Bitcoin as a way to significantly increase financial inclusion, and draws millions of people who previously lacked bank accounts into the financial system. He has also talked about the parallel tourism campaign aimed at Bitcoin enthusiasts.

Bukele led the push to use Bitcoin as a legal tender along with the US dollar. El Salvador’s Legislative Assembly made the country the first to do so in June 2021.