Nayib Bukele claims profit on El Salvador’s Bitcoin despite data showing losses News ▸ El Salvador ▸ Bitcoin ▸ Crypto
Nayib Bukele claims profit on El Salvador’s Bitcoin despite data showing losses
Bukele, who has taken a voluntary six-month leave from office to focus on his reelection campaign, touts his signature Bitcoin investment as profitable, even if the numbers don't.
2 min read
Updated: Dec. 4, 2023 at 4:09 pm UTC
Tribunal Supremo Electoral El Salvador / CC0 1.0 DEED / Flickr.com. Remixed by CryptoSlate
El Salvador president Nayib Bukele, who recently began a six-month leave from office in order to focus on his reelection campaign, has stated that El Salvador’s Bitcoin (BTC) investment has turned profitable due to Bitcoin’s recent surge past $41,000.
Bukele wrote.
“El Salvador’s Bitcoin investments are in the black. With the current Bitcoin market price, if we were to sell our Bitcoin, we would not only recover 100% of our investment but also make a profit of $3,620,277.13 (as of this moment).”
However, data from NayibTracker, a data aggregator monitoring El Salvador’s Bitcoin holdings, contradicts Bukele’s statement, showing the Central American country’s BTC holdings at an unrealized loss of $2.15 million.
Per the site, the country’s average BTC purchase price is $42,434, while the top cryptocurrency traded for $41,623 as of press time.
Still, the data marks a significant turnaround for a country whose BTC holdings had recorded nearly $20 million in unrealized losses in October amid the flagship asset’s spike to $35,000.
Over the weekend, BTC’s price broke $41,000 amid continued market optimism surrounding a possible approval for a spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the U.S.
El Salvador won’t sell
Bukele stated that El Salvador has no intentions of selling its BTC holdings, reaffirming a long-term strategy regardless of future price fluctuations. He said:
“We have no intention of selling; that has never been our objective. We are fully aware that the price will continue to fluctuate in the future, this doesn’t affect our long-term strategy.”
The Central American country has emerged as one of the most pro-BTC jurisdictions in the world since it made the flagship digital asset a legal tender in 2021. Since then, several crypto companies, including Binance, and major industry stakeholders have touted the country’s pro-crypto legislation.
However, El Salvador’s BTC move has attracted detractors whom Bukele described as “naysayers,” who have written “thousands of articles and hit pieces that ridiculed [the country’s] supposed losses.”
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Bitcoin, a decentralized currency that defies the sway of central banks or administrators, transacts electronically, circumventing intermediaries via a peer-to-peer network.
Binance
Binance is a global cryptocurrency exchange that provides a platform for trading more than 100 cryptocurrencies.
Nayib Armando Bukele Ortez is a Salvadoran politician and businessman who is the 46th and current President of El Salvador.
