El Salvador Purchases 410 More Bitcoins Amid Market Drop, President Bukele Says
The nation now has over 1,500 bitcoins and plans to issue a $1 billion, 10-year bitcoin bond this year.
Jan 21, 2022 at 11:37 p.m. UTCUpdated May 11, 2023 at 5:55 p.m. UTC
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El Salvador bought 410 bitcoin (BTC) for $15 million Friday, President Nayib Bukele said on Twitter.
- “Some guys are selling really cheap,” he added in his tweet.
- It is difficult to verify such claims on the public blockchain because a buyer of a block of BTC at that size would almost certainly have to buy it in smaller chunks to avoid slippage.
- Bitcoin was down about 12% late Friday to the $36,500 level as broader crypto prices also retreated.
- The nation now holds over 1,500 BTC and plans to issue a $1 billion, 10-year bitcoin bond this year.
- Bukele has been a consistent dip buyer over the past couple of months in a sign of confidence in the cryptocurrency's long-term prospects.
- Bitcoin officially became legal tender in El Salvador in September, three months after the country’s legislature passed the Bitcoin Law.
UPDATE (Jan. 22, 2022, 1:06 UTC): Adds bullet point on the difficulty of verifying claims on the public blockchain.
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Michael Bellusci is CoinDesk's crypto reporter focused on public companies and digital asset firms.