El Salvador’s Finance Minister Says Bitcoin Adoption is ‘Gaining Ground’: Report
El Salvador’s adoption of bitcoin as legal tender is working despite the losses of over 50% the government has incurred on its purchases, according to the country’s finance minister.Read MoreCoinDesk
El Salvador’s adoption of bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender is working despite the over 50% losses the government has incurred on its purchases, the country’s finance minister said.
Alejandro Zelaya said in an interview with Bloomberg on Wednesday that bitcoin adoption has been beneficial to El Salvador’s unbanked population and also attracted tourism and investments. “It’s a phenomenon that exists and is gaining ground and will continue to be around in the coming years,” he said.
From September last year to the start of this month, El Salvador has purchased 2,301 BTC for a total of $103.9 million. As of the start of July, its portfolio was worth $46.6 million, a decline of over 55%. With the recent uptick in the crypto markets, the portfolio is now worth around $55.3 million.
El Salvador has faced criticism from mainstream financial institutions for its crypto adoption. In January, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) urged the country to discontinue bitcoin’s legal tender status.
“New technologies have shown how people in previous years were afraid of things like websites and digital business, but it’s been show through time that reality imposes itself,” Zelaya added.
El Salvador had plans earlier this year to introduce a $1 billion bitcoin bond but postponed it in March due to unfavorable market conditions. Zelaya said that the government will revisit this once conditions improve.
Read more about
DISCLOSURE
Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.
The leader in news and information on cryptocurrency, digital assets and the future of money, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups. As part of their compensation, certain CoinDesk employees, including editorial employees, may receive exposure to DCG equity in the form of stock appreciation rights, which vest over a multi-year period. CoinDesk journalists are not allowed to purchase stock outright in DCG.
Recent Posts
Bitcoin Pulls Back to $107K, but NYDIG Analysis Suggests Market Far From Overheated
Wednesday morning U.S. hours saw a modest acceleration in crypto's pullback from the recent big…
Bitcoin Hits New Heights: Analyst Predicts Next Peak By Late 2025
As Bitcoin (BTC) continues to capture investor enthusiasm, recently reaching a new all-time high of…
Crypto Daybook Americas: Bitcoin Dominance Tops 64% While Options Indicate Bullish Tilt
By James Van Straten (All times ET unless indicated otherwise) Since May 22, bitcoin (BTC)…
GameStop Purchases Over $500M Worth of Bitcoin
Video game retailer GameStop (GME) has purchased 4,710 bitcoin, worth nearly $513 million at the…
Ether Favored Over Bitcoin by Big Money, Here Are 3 Clues That Point to ETH Bias in Crypto Market
The futures and options market, a proxy for big money, is increasingly backing ether ETH…
Bitcoin Could Explode On Bessent’s $250 Billion Deregulation Shock
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has signalled that the long-debated overhaul of banks’ supplementary leverage…