President Nayib Bukele announced in a tweet that El Salvador has purchased an additional 500 BTC with an average price of around $30,744. The country now holds a total of 1,620 BTC that is currently valued at over $50 million.
Looking back on September 6th, 2021 Bukele tweeted that the country purchased its first 200 BTC while stating that “Our brokers will be buying a lot more.” This made El Salvador the first nation-state in the world to hold Bitcoin in their treasury.
El Salvador has been dollar-cost averaging their Bitcoin position since that historical announcement. A day later, Bitcoin was made legal tender within the country. In that first month alone, four purchases were made totaling 700 BTC or $34.6 million as the country’s cost basis.
There are estimates to how much the country will purchase in total but at this time we only know the initial amount that will be used for Bitcoin adoption. Bukele stated in a Twitter Spaces from June of 2021 that around $150 million will be held in a trust fund.
The trust fund will likely be divided between Bitcoin purchases, Bitcoin education, wallet and mining infrastructure, as well as used for building other infrastructure for the country. For example, in October of 2021 El Salvador built a veterinary hospital using the profits made from their Bitcoin trust.
Criticism also emerges every time Bukele announces a Bitcoin purchase with the country’s funds. Bukele is usually quick to comment and explain that Bitcoin adoption in the country is a long term plan to transition away from fiat currencies. His tweet below shows his outlook for fiat and how Bitcoin is an opportunity for the country.