El Salvador’s Notional Profits from Bitcoin Reserve Swell to $350+ Million

In 2021, when El Salvador chose to be the first country in the world to use bitcoin as legal tender, it raised a lot of eyebrows. President Nayib Bukele shared an update on Sunday about the country’s Bitcoin reserve, proving that the decision is paying off. From a just $287 million investment, El Salvador has managed to gain over $357 million, more than doubling its initial investment within four years.

El Salvador’s Unrealised Gains from Bitcoin Grow to $357 Million

Though the gains are unrealised in nature, El Salvador is doubling down on its Bitcoin reserves this year. Recently, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) issued a loan of $1.4 billion to the Central American country with a strict precondition that it would reduce its BTC purchases. However, per the data from the Salvadorian government’s Bitcoin office, it continues to purchase almost one BTC daily, reaching over 6100 BTC.

The substantial increase in the value of El Salvador’s Bitcoin reserve coincides with the BTC price rally approaching its all-time high of $108k.

President Nayib Bukele shared on X that El Salvador’s Bitcoin portfolio now boasts a 124% growth over its total investment. With this surge, the total value of its Bitcoin portfolio has now gone up to $644 million.

El Salvador’s Policy Push for Bitcoin Use

Being a vocal advocate for Bitcoin, President Bukele has promoted it as a tool to enhance financial inclusion and attract investment.

Despite international scrutiny and warnings from the IMF, the country has continued to hoard Bitcoin. It has also experimented with initiatives like using geothermal volcanic energy for Bitcoin mining and introducing Bitcoin education programs for public officials.

However, the extent of BTC’s use in real-world transactions remains underwhelming, with estimates pegging the use to be below 10% despite the policy push. An overall lack of digital literacy among the country’s populace is reportedly limiting wider use.

Meanwhile, in March, El Salvador signed an agreement with Paraguay to enhance oversight of digital asset service providers. The deal aims to strengthen cooperation in supervising cryptocurrency-related activities.

Max Keiser, an adviser to President Bukele, affirmed that El Salvador will continue to lead other countries in Bitcoin adoption. In an X post, he stated that for the US to equal the country’s BTC per capita ratio, it would need approximately 2.37 million coins. Keiser added that this is simply impossible, and therefore, it is safe to say that El Salvador will always have a greater BPC than the US.