El Salvador’s president shows off the national wallet as Bitcoin leveraged $100,000

After Bitcoin (BTC) recently broke the $100,000 mark, El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele took to social media to bask in the glory of a bet his country made in 2021.

The small Central American nation then gave cryptocurrency legal tender and established a treasury that now holds nearly six thousand BTC.

As the world’s largest digital asset by market cap reached the long-awaited milestone, it pushed the value of El Salvador’s BTC portfolio past $600 million, an impressive 123.67% return of its investment of 269.7 million dollars.

Bitcoin’s historic breakthrough

On December 5, President Bukele addressed X to show domestic crypto holdings, revealing an unrealized profit of $333.6 million.

https://t.co/QVvFbQ7woa pic.twitter.com/WiOAYg6Ztx

— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) December 5, 2024

The post sparked a wave of reactions online, with users praising Bukele’s foresight to adopt Bitcoin. Billionaire Elon Musk, who has been chosen by US President-elect Donald Trump to co-head the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), called the achievement “impressive”, while others praised measure as “legendary” with long-term potential. benefits for El Salvador.

However, since hitting an all-time high (ATH) of $103,679, Bitcoin has retreated to around $98,000, reducing the value of El Salvador’s hoard to a still remarkable $556.4 million .

The country has been buying one BTC every day since 2022. In that time, it has amassed a total of 5,942 BTC, with President Bukele promising to keep adding to the number until Bitcoin becomes “inaccessible with fiat currencies.”

Despite the achievement, not all Salvadorans are reaping the rewards. A recent report by the Associated Press revealed that many cashed in on a $30 BTC bonus offered by the government when digital wallets were introduced, opting for immediate cash over potential long-term gains.

Additionally, critics such as the former head of the Central Bank of El Salvador, Carlos Acevedo, pointed out that while the benefits were impressive, they remain unrealized until Bitcoin is sold.

President Bukele has blamed his political opponents for dissuading citizens from embracing crypto, claiming it deprived many of them of significant financial gains. On Facebook, he wrote:

“Not only was the opposition terribly wrong on Bitcoin, but unlike other issues (where they were also wrong), this time their opposition affected many.”

BTC Continues To Ride The “Trump Bomb”

Although Bitcoin is 5% off its ATH, its recent meteoric rise has come against a backdrop of global events, including Donald Trump’s election victory in November. The pro-crypto president has promised policies aimed at retaining and expanding the US government’s BTC holdings, fueling optimism in the cryptocurrency market.

The $100,000 boost was apparently provided by Trump’s selection of crypto attorney Paul Atkins as the next chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to replace the much-maligned Gary Gensler.

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