El Salvador profited more than 100 million USD from Bitcoin

Latest figures from the El Salvador government show that the country currently owns 5,933 Bitcoins, equivalent to 533 million USD. Since the November 5 session – when the US Presidential election took place, the country’s Bitcoin price has increased by 133 million USD.

Currently, each coin is trading at 90,073 USD, up more than 30% in a week. The price of the world’s largest cryptocurrency has continuously peaked after Donald Trump was elected President of the United States. The reason is that during the election campaign, Trump announced that he would turn the US into the “cryptocurrency capital of the planet” and set up a national cryptocurrency reserve with more than $16 billion in Bitcoin that the US government had recently seized. .

On X on December 11, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele wrote: “I told you so.” Bukele has repeatedly gone to social networks to refute those who criticize his strategy of economic reform thanks to Bitcoin.

El Salvador legalized Bitcoin in September 2021, becoming the first country in the world to adopt digital currency as a national currency. This was expected to reform El Salvador’s economy, turning the poor country in Central America into a pioneer in the financial revolution. However, this move caused them to receive criticism from a series of organizations, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Investing in Bitcoin is not President Bukele’s only crypto-friendly initiative. At the end of 2021, Bukele also announced plans to build a “Bitcoin City” funded by Bitcoin bonds.

The rush to buy Bitcoin, along with a series of strong support for digital currencies, has boosted El Salvador’s tourism industry. However, this move also makes international officials skeptical about transparency.

In addition to buying, El Salvador also mines its own cryptocurrency and also receives many bitcoins from the citizenship program. Accordingly, those who “donate” Bitcoin to the government will be offered citizenship. President Bukele did not disclose this number. He also repeatedly affirmed that he will not sell Bitcoin.