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With Market Crash, El Salvador Is Down $52M on Its Bitcoin Bet

Led by President Nayib Bukele, the country made bitcoin legal tender and began buying the crypto in September 2021.Read MoreFeedzy

Having invested more than $103.9 million purchasing Bitcoin (BTC) for the national treasury in the 10 months since making it legal tender, El Salvador’s holdings are now valued at $51.5M, or about a 50% loss.

Bitcoin’s price at press time was $22,400.

President Nayib Bukele has announced 10 purchases of bitcoin since September 2021, with the country at last check holding 2,301 bitcoin acquired at an average price of $45,171 each.

The country’s most recent buy was on May 9, when Bukele stepped in front of bitcoin’s decline then to purchase 500 coins for $15.3 million, or an average price of $30,744 each. Bukele, to this point, has not announced any purchases during the plunge of the past few days.

On Monday, El Salvador Finance Minister Alejandro Zelaya said the bitcoin losses posed “extremely minimal” risk to his country’s fiscal position, noting the amount foots to less than 0.5% of the government budget. He also reminded that any loss for now is unrealized as the country hasn’t sold any of its coins.

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