With the most recent rise in the price of bitcoin (BTC) in the market, El Salvador’s portfolio has finally leveled off in terms of its dollar value. All thanks to the first breakout of $48,000 per BTC so far this year 2022.
The BTC bought by President Nayib Bukele were in the red for a while, but now the cryptocurrency exceeded the average purchase price of the Central American country: 47,921 dollars per unit.
After the most recent purchase of 410 BTC at a price of $36,500 per unit, Bukele’s portfolio in El Salvador reached 1,801 bitcoins in total. This according to records of @SalvadorTrackerTwitter account dedicated to monitoring the Salvadoran bitcoiner fund.
With that average price, the investment would have been about 86 million dollars in total. The president has been investing in cryptocurrency progressively since September of last year, when the Bitcoin Law came into effect.
Since then, Bukele has reported a total of 8 BTC purchases. The one with the lowest price so far is precisely the one from a few weeks ago, with which it managed to lower the average entry price of the asset. Before those 410 units were added to the fund, the BTC in the Salvadoran coffers averaged a purchase price of more than 51,000 dollars.
The largest acquisition of bitcoins to date, however, has not been the 410 BTC a few weeks ago. At the end of October, the president announced the purchase of 420 bitcoins. It is presumed that the average price of that acquisition was around $60,000 per coin, which he had corrected after setting a maximum of $66,000 on exchanges in previous days.
Bukele’s strategy: always buy the “dip”
With the portfolio in the green right now, it seems that the current market situation proves Bukele right. Or at least validates its strategy of buying at times of cryptocurrency price correction.
In fact, both the president and members of his cabinet have been emphatic on social networks, reporting the rise of BTC in the market as a validating element of the government’s investment commitment. Even before the portfolio was positive, government representatives celebrated the price increase in relation to the last purchase made.
Almost unanimously, political figures have questioned the criticism of those who do not approve of the way in which investing public money in an asset they consider too volatile and risky. Will they also talk when the price rises or do they only take advantage of the falls? Many ask, like Bukele.
Criticism about the handling of public funds
It is true that many government opponents only name bitcoin when it fits their political agendas to detract from Bukele’s actions. But there are also criticisms that transcend the price behavior of bitcoin.
Among those criticisms, one of the biggest points more than to the volatility of the market, to the way in which the president handles the matter. For many Salvadorans, it seems that the president has the power to move millions of dollars from the public treasury at willjust by pressing the “buy” button.
In addition, according to local media reports, these purchases are a “secret” of the State. None of the investments, investigators have alleged at the time, are registered in any public institution. In general, the processes seem dark in the eyes of Salvadorans. Hence, they question that, in a tweet, Bukele announces an investment whose amount exceeds the annual budget of a ministry. Like nothing.
With the market on the rise, the criticism dissipates. Is more difficult question the strategy if it reflects green numbers. And if those green numbers equate to millions of dollars of profit, even more so. At the moment, the El Salvador portfolio has more than 86 million dollars with its 1,801 bitcoin.