El Salvador celebrated the fourth anniversary of the enforcement of the Bitcoin Law by purchasing 21 new Bitcoins (BTC), bringing the country's total holdings to an estimated $701 million.
President Nayib Bukele confirmed the purchase on Sunday, seen as a symbolic move in conjunction with the Bitcoin maximum supply cap of 21 million coins.
The move also underscores the country's commitment to continue building reserves despite tensions with international lenders.
Data shows that since March last year, the smallest country on the Central American mainland has been buying about 1 BTC every day. To date, El Salvador owns 6,313.18 BTC, according to government figures and blockchain data.
The Bitcoin law, introduced in 2021, made El Salvador the first country in the world to accept Bitcoin as a legal currency alongside the US dollar.
At the time, the initiative was promoted as a way to increase financial inclusion and reduce the cost of sending money, although critics warned of the risks of price volatility and macroeconomic implications.
However, the new purchases were seen as potentially compromising compliance with a $1.4 billion IMF loan agreement signed last December.
The agreement required the government to stop voluntarily accumulating assets and review the Bitcoin Law.
An IMF report in March estimated El Salvador’s Bitcoin purchases since 2021 to be worth about $300 million, with unrealized gains exceeding $400 million at current prices.
This makes the country one of the largest sovereign holders of Bitcoin in the world, ahead of several other countries that have also experimented with mining-based strategies.
