El Salvador purchased 150 Bitcoins (BTC) earlier today after the largest crypto by market capitalization plunged to the $45,000 level. Nayib Bukele, the country’s President disclosed this news through a tweet, saying that this purchase has brought El Salvador’s BTC holdings to 700 coins. While he did not disclose how much the government spend on the new purchase, BTC was trading around $45,700 around the time of his tweet.
In his tweet, Bukele urged crypto enthusiasts to always buy dips, adding that that presidential advice. He went on to note,
They can never beat you if you buy the dips.
While El Salvador’s government bought BTC above $45,000, the coin has not reacted positively to this news. At the time of writing, the flagship cryptocurrency is changing hands at $43,830.77 after losing 8.10% of its value over the past 24 hours. This means that the country’s total BTC holdings are currently worth $30,681,539.
This news comes after El Salvador purchased 400 BTC on September 6, before adopting the cryptocurrency as legal tender alongside the US dollar on September 7. After announcing that El Salvador considers BTC legal tender, the digital asset’s value plunged, and the government bought the dip, bringing the country’s BTC holdings to 550.
With the country’s democratic assembly agreeing to create a $150 million Bitcoin Trust, El Salvador is set to continue buying more BTC. On top of this, the Central American nation grants anyone citizenship at the cost of 3 BTC. As such, it is poised to get more BTC once crypto enthusiasts start moving into the country.
Salvadorans continue fighting BTC
While Bukele believes BTC can help revolutionize El Salvador, the majority of Salvadorans do not share his perspective. As a result, they have been demonstrating against the adoption of BTC as legal tender, with the latest protests leading to the burning of a BTC kiosk in Plaza Gerardo Barrios on September 15. Before setting the kiosk on fire, the demonstrators defaced it with anti-BTC logos and a sign saying democracy is not for sale
Before this, another group of elderly protestors, including veterans, retirees, and disability pensioners took to the streets in August to voice their disapproval of the government’s plans to make BTC legal tender. Reportedly, the crowd was concerned that the government would start paying pensions in BTC instead of the US dollar.
Apart from the resistance from citizens, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) do not support El Salvador’s decision to make BTC legal tender. The World Bank voiced transparency concerns, adding that BTC’s mining takes a toll on the environment. On the other hand, the IMF cited macroeconomic, financial, and legal issues.
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