"Better Market Insight Than BlackRock, Earned 16.6 Billion Won"... This Country Smiles at Crypto ETF

El Salvador's Bitcoin Investment in 2021
Endures Nearly 2 Years of Losses Amid Price Plunge

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved a Bitcoin spot exchange-traded fund (ETF), drawing attention to the Latin American country El Salvador. This country adopted Bitcoin as legal tender in September 2021.

Cryptocurrency-focused media outlet CoinDesk US reported on the 10th (local time), citing data from El Salvador's cryptocurrency investment profit and loss tracking webpage 'Naive Tracker,' that "El Salvador's Bitcoin investment recently recorded an unrealized gain of $12.6 million (approximately 16.6 billion KRW)." Unrealized gains refer to accounting profits that have not yet been realized.

President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador, who posted the so-called 'Laser Eye' composite photo symbolizing Bitcoin optimism in 2021 [Image source=X]

Earlier, President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador invested $10.3 million (approximately 13.5 billion KRW) from the national treasury into Bitcoin in September 2021. The average purchase price was $40,479 (approximately 53.21 million KRW), and the holding quantity is 2,744 coins.

When Bitcoin prices plummeted due to overlapping factors such as interest rate hikes and living cost crises, El Salvador also had to endure losses. However, in early December last year, Bitcoin prices once again surpassed the $40,000 range (approximately 52 million KRW), leading to a dramatic return to profitability. As of 2:55 PM on the 11th, Bitcoin was trading around $46,000 (approximately 60.47 million KRW).

President Bukele left the message "We were faster than BlackRock" [Image source=X]

On the 4th of last month, President Bukele stated on his official X account, "If El Salvador sells Bitcoin at the current market price, it will recover 100% of the investment and also make a profit," but he drew a line by adding, "Of course, there is no intention to sell."

He further pointed out, "Price fluctuations are expected in the future, but this does not affect our long-term strategy. Bitcoin opponents have said in the past that El Salvador was incurring losses from BTC investments, so they should also mention that profits are now being made."

On the 10th, the day the Bitcoin spot ETF was approved, President Bukele left a message on X saying, "We were faster than BlackRock." This is interpreted as emphasizing that the El Salvador government had been investing in Bitcoin long before BlackRock, the largest asset management company in the U.S., launched a Bitcoin ETF.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.