El Salvador, the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender, has seen its investment in the cryptocurrency pay off handsomely as the price of Bitcoin reached new highs this month.
According to BitcoinTreasuries, a website that tracks the Bitcoin holdings of public and private entities, El Salvador’s Bitcoin stash is now worth more than $185 million, up from $108 million when it started buying the digital currency in September 2022.
Source: Nayib Tracker
The Central American nation has accumulated about 2,380 Bitcoins, mostly through its innovative citizenship program that offers residency and other benefits to foreigners who invest at least 3 Bitcoins in the country. The program has attracted over 1,000 applicants so far, generating more than $66 million in revenue for the government.
El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, who spearheaded the Bitcoin adoption, has defended his decision against critics who warned of the risks and volatility of the cryptocurrency. He said that the government has no plans to sell its Bitcoins, and that the market fluctuations do not affect the long-term vision of making Bitcoin a widely used and accepted currency in the country.
He also accused the mainstream media of being biased and dishonest in their coverage of El Salvador’s economic policy, saying that they only focused on the negative aspects of Bitcoin and ignored the positive outcomes.
“Bitcoin is not only a way to diversify our economy, but also a way to empower our people, especially the unbanked and the remittance recipients, who can now save and spend their money without intermediaries or fees,” Bukele said in a recent interview.
El Salvador’s Bitcoin experiment has inspired other countries to explore the potential of the cryptocurrency, such as Panama, which is drafting a bill to regulate and promote the use of digital assets. However, some experts and institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund, have expressed concerns about the legal, financial, and environmental implications of Bitcoin adoption.
Source: https://azcoinnews.com/el-salvadors-bitcoin-holdings-reach-188m-with-67m-profits-from-btc-surge.html
