El Salvador reports over $300 million in Bitcoin gains

El Salvador has announced unrealised gains exceeding $300 million from its Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) investments as the cryptocurrency recently surpassed the $100,000 milestone.

President Nayib Bukele highlighted these gains on social media following Bitcoin's historic rise on December 5, when it reached a price of $100,000 for the first time.

On that day, Autism Capital, a crypto-focused account on X, requested Bukele to share details of El Salvador's Bitcoin portfolio to counter critics. 

In response, Bukele posted the country's Bitcoin holdings, revealing that El Salvador has spent nearly $270 million on Bitcoin since adopting it as legal tender.

According to Bukele’s update, no Bitcoin has been sold from the country’s holdings, resulting in unrealised gains now exceeding $333 million.

El Salvador made history as the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender when its Bitcoin Law took effect on September 7, 2021.

The government purchased its first 200 BTC the day before the law was enacted.

Since then, El Salvador has continued to acquire Bitcoin and on November 17, 2022, Bukele announced a dollar-cost averaging strategy, committing to buy one Bitcoin daily.

As of now, El Salvador holds 6,180 BTC with an average purchase price of approximately $44,739.88 per Bitcoin, indicating a gain of about 122% at current market prices.

In addition to financial gains from Bitcoin, the country has reported benefits such as increased tourism since adopting the cryptocurrency.

However, despite these reported successes, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has repeatedly urged El Salvador to reconsider its Bitcoin policies.

On January 25, 2022, the IMF recommended that El Salvador stop recognising Bitcoin as legal tender due to potential risks to financial stability while acknowledging its potential for enhancing financial inclusion.

On October 3, 2024, the IMF reiterated its call for El Salvador to scale back its Bitcoin policies and limit public sector exposure to cryptocurrency.

At the time of reporting, the Bitcoin price was $99,365.04.