KEY POINTS
- The central American country now has 5,700 Bitcoin holdings
- Nayib Bukele said El Salvador will buy 1 Bitcoin daily until it becomes "unaffordable with fiat currencies"
- El Salvador was the world's first nation to recognize Bitcoin as legal tender
El Salvador has proven that it remains committed to its pledge of purchasing one Bitcoin daily as it now holds a little over 5,700 Bitcoins.
President Nayib Bukele took to X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday, simply saying, "5,700," along with a link to on-chain data on the latest movements by the central American nation's BTC wallet.
5,700 https://t.co/RohuJdqSxF
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) March 25, 2024
On-chain data analysis and blockchain security firm PeckShield picked up the activity, revealing that El Salvador's "Cold Wallet-labeled address" received a total of 11 Bitcoins from Bitfinex in the last 11 days." Following the inflows, the address now has just a little over 5,700 BTC worth $402.7 million based on Tuesday prices.
#PeckShieldAlert #ElSalvador #BTC Cold Wallet-labeled address has received a total of ~11 $BTC from #Bitfinex within the last 11 days
— PeckShieldAlert (@PeckShieldAlert) March 26, 2024
The address currently holds ~5.7K $BTC (worth ~$402.7m) pic.twitter.com/Vd7PCu0sgo
The latest movement in El Salvador's Bitcoin strategy came after Bukele announced on March 15 that the country has transferred a "big chunk" of its BTC trove to a cold wallet and it will "store that cold wallet in a physical vault within our national territory."
We've decided to transfer a big chunk of our #Bitcoin to a cold wallet, and store that cold wallet in a physical vault within our national territory.
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) March 14, 2024
You can call it our first #Bitcoin piggy bank 🇸🇻
It's not much, but it's honest work 😂 pic.twitter.com/dqzedykxT1
"It's not much, but it's honest work," he added. Two days later, he provided an update regarding the country's Bitcoin buy, seemingly in a bid toward transparency.
One apple a day… https://t.co/RohuJdqSxF
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) March 17, 2024
Bukele first announced in mid-November 2022 that El Salvador will start buying one Bitcoin daily. Since then, the nation has grown its BTC treasury. He also said the daily Bitcoin purchases will continue until the world's first decentralized cryptocurrency "becomes unaffordable with fiat currencies."
This continues until #Bitcoin becomes unaffordable with fiat currencies. https://t.co/nzeynjXcFk
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) March 16, 2024
Despite its committed Bitcoin strategy, the latest data reveals that El Salvador is only ranked sixth among 10 countries worldwide that publicly declared their BTC holdings. The nation's treasury is still far from the likes of top rankers U.S. and China, who hold 215,000 and 190,000 Bitcoins, respectively.
Still, El Salvador takes pride in its many BTC-focused initiatives and even holds the title of being the first country to recognize the digital currency as legal tender.
Bukele has ambitious dreams for El Salvador's Bitcoin economy as he previously announced plans for the world's first "Bitcoin City," a futuristic metropolis on a Salvadoran beach that will be funded by cryptocurrency bonds. He said the nation's Conchagua volcano can power Bitcoin mining, in hopes of attracting miners in search of cheaper operation alternatives.
Bitcoin City is still far from reality as no stone has been turned, nor one brick laid two years since Bukele made the announcement. On the other hand, a surf town in El Salvador dubbed as "Bitcoin Beach" has raised hopes that the country's BTC adoption may soon expand at a faster rate as some stalls now actively encourage Bitcoin payments.
