El Salvador Isn't Worried About Its Bitcoin Losses
El Salvador is seriously down for the count following its heavy love and adoption of bitcoin. The world’s number one digital currency by market cap is taking the country’s finances into a little pit of nothingness, but the nation’s leaders don’t seem all that worried.
How Much Has El Salvador Lost?
In a recent interview, Finance Minister Alejandro Zelaya said he wasn’t worried about the state of the crypto space and doesn’t feel the dips will present any lasting harm to El Salvador. He stated:
When they tell me that the fiscal risk for El Salvador because of bitcoin is high, the only thing I can do is smile. The fiscal risk is extremely minimal.
El Salvador was the first nation to declare bitcoin legal tender, doing so in the latter half of 2021. Since then, the country has come a long way in establishing financial independence, though the nation has experienced some hard times in the long run. For example, the World Bank turned its back on El Salvador and said it would not aid the country’s bitcoin agenda given that the asset was too volatile to be taken seriously.
The country also experienced heavy animosity from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which practically got down on its knees and begged Nayib Bukele – El Salvador’s bitcoin-loving president – to turn away from BTC permanently and reject everything crypto had to offer. Bukele quickly said “no.”
El Salvador has also seen mass protests occurring in its capital city from individuals and residents that did not want their country to fall victim to the alleged crime that is so heavily tied to the bitcoin space. They argued that the nation was fine being dependent on USD, though they’re likely rescinding these words at the time of writing given how heavy inflation has been throughout much of America.
Zelaya discussed a recent report that claimed El Salvador had lost more than $40 million of its portfolio thanks to the bitcoin dips. He claimed that $40 million wasn’t anything officials had to worry about, and that the country is much better off than people realize. He stated:
Forty million dollars does not even represent 0.5 percent of our national general budget.
Down for the Count
It is alleged that the country has lost nearly 50 percent of its total holdings since the bitcoin price began to sink into oblivion. However, there have been many times in the past where bitcoin was down for the count, yet El Salvador bought the dip each time and added even more units to its stash. Perhaps this time will be no different.
El Salvador is estimated to hold more than 2,300 units of bitcoin which are currently priced at a total of $53 million. This is a huge step down from the $105.6 million that was used to purchase them.
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