El Salvador Buys Even More Bitcoin as Price Inches Closer to $50K

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Wed, 12/22/2021 - 06:55
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El Salvador President Nayib Bukele has announced a new Bitcoin purchase on Twitter.

The government has bought another 21 BTC that is roughly worth $1 million at the time of writing.

In late November, the country’s millennial leader made an announcement about buying $5.4 million in Bitcoin.

After adopting the U.S. dollar as an official currency in 2001, El Salvador also made Bitcoin legal tender this September.

Despite large protests against Bitcoin implementation and tech issues faced by the government’s Chivo wallet, crypto proponents argue that the country’s big Bitcoin experiment could be a sneak peek into the future.

In 2022, El Salvador is set to issue a $1 billion in Bitcoin-backed bond in partnership with Blockstream. Critics have linked the move to the government’s inability to secure a $1.3 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which has been openly skeptical of the tropical nation’s audacious Bitcoin bet. Analysts argue that the Bitcoin bonds could make it harder for countries to secure money from traditional intuitions due to low creditworthiness.

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The bond will be used for funding El Salvador’s Bitcoin city with volcano-powered mining.

Given that the vast majority of the country is unbanked, Bitcoin is seen as a boon for financial inclusion despite initial mishaps.

Bulls are eyeing $50,000

The largest cryptocurrency is now trading just inches away from the $50,000 level.

At press time, it is changing hands at $49,118 on the Bitstamp exchange.  

Bitcoin is still down 14% this month despite paring some losses earlier this week.