Key Takeaways:
- El Salvador transferred over 5,000 bitcoins, valued at approximately $400 million, into a cold storage wallet, effectively doubling its digital currency holdings.
- President Nayib Bukele introduced the move as the country’s first Bitcoin “piggy bank,” with the wallet securely stored in a physical vault within El Salvador, hinting at diversified acquisition methods beyond direct purchases.
- This strategic initiative marks a significant step in El Salvador’s commitment to Bitcoin, highlighting the country’s innovative approach to incorporating digital assets into its treasury.
El Salvador has made a significant move by transferring over 5,000 bitcoins, valued at approximately $400 million, into a cold storage wallet this week.
This announcement, made by President Nayib Bukele, has effectively doubled the perceived holdings of the nation in the digital currency.
We've decided to transfer a big chunk of our #Bitcoin to a cold wallet, and store that cold wallet in a physical vault within our national territory.
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) March 14, 2024
You can call it our first #Bitcoin piggy bank 🇸🇻
It's not much, but it's honest work 😂 pic.twitter.com/dqzedykxT1
In a social media post, President Bukele introduced this initiative as the country’s inaugural Bitcoin “piggy bank.”
He mentioned that this cold wallet is securely stored in a physical vault within the nation’s borders, sharing an image of the wallet containing 5,689.68 BTC, which is valued at $411 million as of the latest market prices.
This considerable amount of Bitcoin places El Salvador’s total holdings much higher than what was previously estimated.
Prior to this revelation, the public estimations of El Salvador’s Bitcoin reserves were under 3,000 BTC ($205 million). President Bukele hinted earlier in the week that the country’s acquisition of Bitcoin was not limited to direct purchases.
Instead, it included various means such as selling passports, currency conversions for businesses, mining activities, and government services.
This is the first instance where President Bukele has linked the country’s Bitcoin holdings to a specific wallet address, diverging from his usual practice of sharing updates through social media posts.
El Salvador’s engagement with Bitcoin began in September 2021, marking it as the first nation to adopt Bitcoin as a treasury asset, a period when the value of one Bitcoin was around $52,000.
The value of Bitcoin has since seen a significant increase, with its price exceeding $72,000 recently, despite fluctuations.
The transfer of Bitcoin into the cold wallet was completed over the last week, with the bulk of the transfer happening on Thursday.
JUST IN: 🇸🇻 El Salvador’s President Bukele announces the transfer of $400 million worth of #Bitcoin to a cold wallet that will be stored in vault within their national borders 👀 pic.twitter.com/Mjdt4SHIhi
— Bitcoin News (@BitcoinNewsCom) March 15, 2024
A substantial portion of these Bitcoins originated from Bitfinex, as identified by Arkham Intelligence.
This strategic move by El Salvador underscores the nation’s deepening commitment to Bitcoin and highlights the innovative approaches being adopted by governments worldwide in embracing digital assets.
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