El Salvador Bitcoin. Source: RawBeautyPixels/Adobe
More than two years after making Bitcoin (BTC) legal tender, El Salvador’s big crypto bet is still struggling to come to fruition.
This includes the government’s own BTC investments, which still appear to be underwater due to the president’s untimely purchases.
According to the Nayib Bukele Portfolio Tracker website, the government currently owns 3,124 BTC worth $118.3 million. That’s 6.44%, or $8.1 million, less than the country’s cost base.
It’s hard to know exactly how much BTC El Salvador holds, as the bank that manages the government’s Bitcoin funds has remained strangely tight-lipped on the matter.
However, the site offers a rough estimate based on the many public tweets from El Salvador’s Bitcoin-loving President Nayib Bukele – which provide exact amounts and buy-in prices for the country’s BTC investments.
The government began purchasing 550 BTC between September 6th and 7th, when the currency was made legal tender. Bitcoin was bought at an average price of around $52,000 and fell to $43,000 within a few days.
Although this number later increased to $69,000 by November 2021, the president caught many falling knives over the next few months. For example, between October and November 2021, Buckle purchased 520 BTC in two purchases for approximately $59,000 each, believing he had “bought the bottom” each time.
Small, consistent investments
His Bitcoin purchase announcements became smaller and less frequent until November 2022. After Bitcoin fell below $17,000 following FTX’s collapse, Bukele vowed to buy one Bitcoin every day from then on.
Assuming he keeps his promise, the country has since purchased 374 BTC. With Bitcoin up 128% since last year, El Salvador’s total investment has increased 45% since then, recouping much of its previous losses.
The eccentric leader once claimed he traded the digital currency using public coffers from his cellphone, sometimes “naked” and “on the toilet.”
The tracker’s sister site, saylortracker.com, tracks the portfolio of MicroStrategy, whose laser-eyed chairman is also loud about his company’s BTC investments.
Unlike El Salvador, MicroStrategy’s BTC ownership is verifiable through its quarterly financial reports. The company is also essentially in the green, boasting a profit of $1.28 billion from its massive stack of 158,400 BTC, now worth over $6 billion.
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