The President of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele tweeted earlier today that his government has taken advantage of the recent Bitcoin price drop and added 420 additional BTC to the nation’s stash.
“It was a long wait, but worth it,†he tweeted, “We just bought the dip!â€
Shortly after he tweeted: “We’re already making a profit off the #Bitcoin we just bought.†During the time between the tweets, the value of the country’s Bitcoin grew by around 0.4% or $100K.
How do we make a profit if 1 #BTC= 1 #BTC?
We have a trust fund accounted in USD, but the trust is funded by both USD and BTC.
When the BTC part revalues in comparison to the accounting currency (USD), we are able to withdraw some USD and leave the trust with the same total.
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) October 27, 2021
Many onlookers online have speculated on the significance of El Salvador purchasing 420 Bitcoin specifically, which is a popular slang term for marijuana consumption.
“Nice! blaze it!†commented Reddit user theylie86, using another popular term in marijuana culture.
“I’m starting to believe he’s doing this on purpose,†speculated Reddit user EGarrett. “Actually, now that I check he was born in 1981 so he probably is. Funny to see the results of millennials starting to inherit the world.â€
It is absurd that the United States is being outcompeted by El Salvador for who owns more bitcoin.
Our national policy should be to match every single BTC purchase that is made by a foreign government.
The next competition won’t be number of nukes, but how much bitcoin you own.
— Pomp (@APompliano) October 27, 2021
Four hundred and twenty Bitcoin is worth about $24.6 million USD. The purchase brings the country’s total amount of Bitcoin to 1,120 BTC, which is worth about $87.4 million USD. The country has an estimated average purchase price of just above $53,300.
El Salvador first purchased two batches of 200 BTC on September 6 this year, snatching up another batch of 150 BTC a day later, when it also became the first country in the world to make Bitcoin legal tender. On September 19, El Salvador bought another 150 BTC, which brought the country’s total holdings to 700 BTC.
However, other observers were less positive about the recent purchase, expressing concerns over the security of the nation’s Bitcoin holdings.
Twitter user @dolomiteHEX replied to the President’s tweet asking, “Who holds their private keys?†The user also asked what would happen if the nation were to be hacked.
User @EnocWatcher shared these concerns, adding that Bitcoin purchased using taxpayer money should be stored in a publicly disclosed entity.
Read more: Latin America stands to benefit most from crypto, says Uphold exec
El Salvador’s Central Bank chief Douglas Rodriguez told Bloomberg earlier this month that the Latin American country continues to invest under the expectation that Bitcoin will soon lose its reputation as a speculative asset and become a legitimate payment system.
“We don’t see any risks. Perhaps, upside risks,†Rodriguez said. Bitcoin will, “become a payment system, a system for financial inclusion.â€
The price of Bitcoin has recently taken a downwards turn at $58,570 after hitting an all time high of $66,976 earlier this month. Despite the dip, the cryptocurrency is still up about 20% since September 7.
