El Salvador Just Added 162 More Bitcoins to Its National Holdings: Report

A cold wallet believed to be controlled by El Salvador’s government has been acquiring one Bitcoin daily since March 16, thereby expanding its Bitcoin reserve by 162 coins.

According to data from the blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence, the wallet, identified as belonging to the El Salvador government, presently encompasses 5,851 Bitcoin, valued at approximately $356.4 million.

Since March 16, the wallet’s inflow chart shows the daily constant addition of each Bitcoin. Just a few hours ago, the most recent purchase took place, costing $60,500. Still, there have been several much smaller transactions in which the wallet obtained fractions of Bitcoin for less than $100.

Crypto analyst EmberCN has calculated the average acquisition cost of El Salvador’s Bitcoin assets at around $44,835, which positions the country with an unrealized profit margin of $93.45 million. The Salvadoran government buys Bitcoin daily, aligning with President Bukele’s goal of buying one daily until its price becomes “unaffordable.”

El Salvador’s Major Bitcoin Transfer to Cold Storage

The initiative began with a substantial transfer of 5,689 BTC into a cold storage wallet, which at the time was valued at approximately $386 million. President Bukele has called this wallet the nation’s initial “Bitcoin piggy bank.”

Moreover, the Bukele administration has recently proposed using cryptocurrency in trade negotiations with Russia. This suggestion was made as a strategy to circumvent the economic sanctions imposed on Russia by the United States and its allies in response to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

El Salvador has adopted the U.S. dollar as its official currency, so it faces challenges in trading with Russia. Due to these sanctions, Russia has experienced significant restrictions in accessing USD. 

El Salvador Enhances Bitcoin Transparency

The government of El Salvador has added new information regarding its holding via the mempool space tool to boost transparency about its Bitcoin holdings and enable public auditing. This move guarantees responsibility for national cryptocurrency investments and strengthens public confidence.

El Salvador has also entered Bitcoin mining, using the country’s vast geothermal energy produced by volcanoes, after declaring Bitcoin as the official currency in 2021. The nation has succeeded with 474 Bitcoin mined, worth about $29 million.

President Nayib Bukele, recently re-elected for a second five-year term following a clear victory in February, favors this environmentally friendly mining method. It uses El Salvador’s natural resources and reflects its goal of combining advanced technologies with renewable energy sources. Despite its creative approach, this mining operation still makes up a small part of El Salvador’s Bitcoin strategy.

In the meantime, Bitcoin has seen a slight decrease of 0.7% in the past 24 hours and a 5.1% rise over the last week.

Featured image from Dall-e, a chart from Tradingview.com.