After bitcoin surpassed the $100,000 mark for the first time, El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukle took to social media to ‘flex’ his triumphant bet on the cryptocurrency. The Central American country was one of the early adopters of bitcoin where the cryptocurrency remains a legal tender with Mr Bukle being a vocal supporter. Responding to a user who asked Mr Bukle to share his government’s portfolio, the president posted a screenshot showing the value of the bitcoin holdings, surpassing $600,000.
The portfolio showed that the El Salvadorian government had made an unrealised profit of $333 million on its initial investment of $269 million. Data from Arkham Intelligence, a blockchain and cryptocurrency tracker, shows El Salvador currently owns slightly less than 6,000 bitcoins.
https://t.co/QVvFbQ7woa pic.twitter.com/WiOAYg6Ztx
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) December 5, 2024
Social media users were impressed by the returns and applauded Mr Bukle for taking the bet when not many were in favour of the digital currency. Billionaire Elon Musk reacting to the post wrote, “Impressive”, while a user said: “Presidents flexing their nations BTC stack on the internet is wild.”
Another user added: “President Nayib took the biggest bet on BTC and it’s paying off.”
“What a legendary move. Will be ups and downs for him along the way but in the long run this could have wildly asymmetric positive outcomes for El Salvador in 10-20 years,” a third commented.
What a legendary move. Will be ups and downs for him along the way but in the long run this could have wildly asymmetric positive outcomes for El Salvador in 10-20 years https://t.co/8VeP9dIPgT
— Bryan Linton (@bryan_linton) December 5, 2024
What part of the cycle is this when country presidents post PNLs on their national $BTC ? https://t.co/WY0Te0J61Z pic.twitter.com/prM2D7B5RL
— DietaFlex (@DietaFlex) December 5, 2024
Meanwhile, Mr Bukele blamed his country’s opposition party for causing many ordinary Salavdorians to miss out on the ‘bitcoin train’.
“It’s important to emphasise that not only did the opposition err resoundingly with bitcoin, but rather, differently from other issues (where they have also been wrong), this time their opposition affected many,” Mr Bukele wrote on Facebook.
Also Read | From 2008 To 2024: Bitcoin’s Journey Towards $100,000 And Beyond
Bitcoin climbs rapidly
Bitcoin has witnessed a 45 per cent rise in its value after Donald Trump won the US presidential election by positioning himself as a pro-crypto leader.
During the canvassing trail, Mr Trump pleaded that if elected, his administration’s policy would be for the US to retain all the bitcoin it holds and all the bitcoin it obtains going forward.
After Bitcoin crossed the historic mark, Mr Trup took to Truth Social and posted: “CONGRATULATIONS BITCOINERS!!! $100,000!!! YOU’RE WELCOME!!! Together, we will Make America Great Again!”
