El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele has released information regarding the country’s government’s investments in the country’s first cryptocurrency. As of December 5, 2024, the government’s unrealized gains on the asset exceeded $333 million.
This mark was reached against the background of Bitcoin overcoming the threshold of $100,000. After another rally of the first cryptocurrency, analysts on the social network X (formerly Twitter) asked Bukele to share data about Salvador's investment portfolio.
The President noted that the total amount of funds invested in Bitcoin is $269.7 million. The total income was 123.7%, and the value of the country's cryptoassets reached $603 million. According to independent platforms, at the time of writing, the country holds 6,181 BTC. At the same time, the average cost of buying a bitcoin is $44,739.
El Salvador first acquired the asset in September 2021. Then the government bought 200 BTC, and starting in 2022, it buys one bitcoin every day. According to Bukele, the country's leadership follows a strategy of dollar cost averaging (DCA). This approach involves constant investment in the asset, regardless of changes in the exchange rate of the coin.
In October 2024, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) again called on the Salvadoran authorities to review the regulation of cryptocurrency and reduce the use of Bitcoin. Experts of the organization believe that the volatility of digital assets can pose a significant threat to the country's financial system.
At the same time, in February 2023, the IMF published a statement in which it admitted that the risks associated with the legalization of Bitcoin in El Salvador had not materialized. However, IMF analysts still call on the authorities to reduce the state's dependence on high-risk assets.