Bukele steps up El Salvador’s efforts to push bitcoin; buys another 150 coins

El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele speaks during a ceremony to lay the first stone for Chivo Vet, a veterinary hospital funded by the gains El Salvador has made from its bitcoin operations, in Antiguo Cuscatlan, El Salvador November 1, 2021. REUTERS / Jose Cabezas

SAN SALVADOR, December 4 (Reuters) – El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele said the Central American country had acquired another 150 bitcoins after the value of the digital currency fell again, and increased his efforts on the cryptocurrency despite criticism.

Bitcoin, the world’s largest and most well-known cryptocurrency, is down around 30% from this year’s high of $ 69,000 on November 10. Bukele said last week that El Salvador had acquired 100 extra coins to take advantage of the currency weakening. read more

Late on Friday, Bukele announced that the government had re-entered the market.

“El Salvador just bought dip! 150 coins at an average USD price of ~ $ 48,670,” Bukele wrote on Twitter.

Until November 26, El Salvador had 1220 bitcoins.

In September, El Salvador became the world’s first nation to use bitcoin as a legal tender, a move that garnered global media attention but also attracted criticism from the opposition and foreign financial institutions.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Monday that El Salvador should not use bitcoin as a legal tender, given the risks associated with the cryptocurrency.

Reporting by Nelson Renteria; Author by Drazen Jorgic; Edited by Daniel Wallis

Our standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.