<img src="https://bitcoinmagazine.com/.image/c_fit%2Ch_800%2Cw_1200/MTg0MjMzMzU2NjAxMzM3Njg1/nayib-bukele-bitcoin-el-salvador.png” />
El Salvador, the first country to make bitcoin legal tender and to adopt a bitcoin investment strategy for its national treasury, has accumulated more than $400 million in bitcoin.
President Nayib Bukele led the effort to pass a law making bitcoin legal tender in 2021. Since then, the country has purchased bitcoin through daily and periodic purchases announced by Bukele on X.
In addition to direct purchases, El Salvador also generates bitcoin through a passport program, converts btc into dollars for businesses, and mines bitcoin, all of which demonstrates the country's commitment to building a circular bitcoin economy.
Bukele recently revealed the government's bitcoin address to the public for the first time. Bukele has fixed that bitcoin is kept in a state-run “piggy bank” style cold storage vault. He too mentioned that they will buy 1 bitcoin every day until “bitcoin becomes unaffordable with fiat currencies.”
El Salvador has purchased over 5,700 btc to date at an average price of around $42,700. With bitcoin recently surpassing $70,000, the country's holdings have increased by almost $80 million.
The president believes that bitcoin will help boost El Salvador's economy through tourism, remittances, and foreign investment. bitcoin's fixed supply will also appreciate against the US dollar over time.
Bukele has frequently promoted bitcoin on X, stating: “When the market price of bitcoin was low, (critics) wrote literally thousands of articles about our alleged losses.” Now, with bitcoin on the rise, the investment is paying off.
While initially controversial, Bukele's bet on bitcoin now appears prescient. If adoption continues to accelerate globally, El Salvador's huge early investment could one day make it the world's first bitcoin-rich nation.
