El Salvador Buys More Bitcoin Despite 57% Loss and Debt Woes
- President Bukele says government bought 80 Bitcoin on Thursday
- Nation’s dollar bonds are trading deep in distressed territory
Customers wait to use a Chivo Bitcoin automated teller machine (ATM) in San Salvador.
Photographer: Camilo Freedman/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele is doubling down on his bet on cryptocurrencies, despite a brutal selloff in the market over the past months.
The government bought 80 Bitcoins on Thursday at the cost of $19,000 each, according to a tweet from Bukele. That brings the total amount the nation spent buying Bitcoin since it was approved as legal tender last year to $106.3 million, according to calculations by Bloomberg based on Bukele’s tweets. These holdings are now worth about $45.8 million, implying a 57% loss.