KEY POINTS
- The US and China are in the first and second spots respectively with 215K and 190K Bitcoin holdings
- The UK is on top three, with 61K BTC holdings, and Germany is fourth with 50K Bitcoins
- El Salvador has made Bitcoin legal tender and its president vowed to continue making daily BTC purchases
El Salvador has been amassing Bitcoins for several years now, but it turns out the central American nation isn't even on the top five of publicly-known countries with BTC holdings.
Among 10 governments that have publicly declared their Bitcoin holdings, El Salvador is only seventh in the list, according to the latest data from BitcoinTreasuries, which tracks the Bitcoin holdings of countries, publicly-traded companies and other large entities.
On the top spot is unsurprisingly the United States, with 215,000 Bitcoin holdings – a number Michael Saylor's MicroStrategy is nearing as it now holds over 214,00 BTC following last week's massive buy.
Not far from the U.S. is Washington's economic and military rival, China. The Asian powerhouse has 190,000 Bitcoins, as per the data. It is worth noting that Beijing has labeled some crypto-related activities as illegal, but it has not outright banned the ownership of digital assets like BTC and Ether (ETH).
Third in line is the United Kingdom with 61,000 Bitcoin holdings, followed by Germany, with 50,000 BTC, and Ukraine in the fifth spot with 46,351 BTC holdings.
On the sixth spot is Bitcoin-friendly El Salvador, which has vast plans for adopting the world's first decentralized cryptocurrency. The country has 5,692 Bitcoins, according to publicly-declared data.
After El Salvador is Bhutan (621), Venezuela (240), Finland (90), and Georgia (66). Bulgaria is also listed on the Bitcoin holdings tracker, but there is no existing data, most likely due to the ongoing debate regarding the country's actual BTC trove.
Bulgaria, along with law enforcement from other countries, reportedly discovered that proceeds from an alleged customs hacking fraud invested the illicit funds from their activities into some 200,000 Bitcoins. It has not been confirmed that the Bitcoin was seized or that Bulgarian authorities have control over the Bitcoins.
Lexology reached out to the Bulgarian finance ministry regarding the matter. The ministry said Bulgaria did not confiscate and was not holding over 213,519 Bitcoin as some outlets reported.
Meanwhile, El Salvador continues to invest in Bitcoin as President Nayib Bukele declared last week that the country will make a daily BTC purchase until Bitcoin "becomes unaffordable with fiat currencies."
The country also became the first in the world to make Bitcoin legal tender in 2021. In a surf town in El Salvador called "Bitcoin Beach," stalls that sell various products such as food have "Bitcoin accepted" signage.
For now, El Salvador is way down in the list of top countries with BTC holdings, but its daily purchases may soon bring it closer to the top five, especially under a Bitcoin maximalist president.
