El Salvador’s Bitcoin Law Anniversary

On 24 June 2021 during a national address, President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador announced that “Bitcoin Law” would become effective on 7 September 2021, making El Salvador the first country in the world to accept Bitcoin as legal tender.

• On 6 September 2021, the President announced that his country had bought its first 200 Bitcoins and they planned to buy “a lot more“. Since the initial purchase, El Salvador has made 11 purchases of Bitcoin, with the country estimated to have bought 2,381 bitcoins in total. 
• The Nayib Bukele Portfolio Tracker has been tracking the country’s purchases. According to the site, the country’s Bitcoin portfolio is down 57.38% to date. It estimates that they have spent more than $107 million on Bitcoin and lost more than $61 million, based on current market prices.
• The last purchase made was on 1 July 2022. 80 Bitcoins were purchased at $19,000 each. According to the tracker, this is the only purchase by El Salvador that is currently in profit.
• Despite El Salvador’s Bitcoin account currently being in heavy unrealised losses, the experiment has potentially provided its citizens with access to a more efficient monetary system.

To pay his bills in El Salvador, Milton would have to spend an hour on the bus and another two hours in line. He now pays them instantly from his home with #bitcoinhttps://t.co/B75DXg0u6z

— Documenting ₿itcoin 📄 (@DocumentingBTC) September 7, 2022

Providing Bitcoin as a legal tender seems to have more negatives than positives in the eyes of international spectators. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has been pushing the country to revise Bitcoin’s status as legal tender citing financial, economic, and legal concerns.