Bitcoin traded at $88,413 on the 11th
El Salvador, which adopted legal tender, expected to profit
Bhutan government holding $900 million also hits jackpot
As the 'Trump 2nd term' administration approaches and Bitcoin prices soar, El Salvador, the first country in the world to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender, is expected to see significant profits. According to the Bitcoin Office (ONBTC) directly under the President of El Salvador on the 11th (local time), the El Salvador government currently holds 5,930.77 Bitcoins. As of 10 a.m. that day, this was valued at $502.19 million (approximately 731.3 billion KRW), and according to NaiveTracker, a private website that analyzes investment gains and losses in real time, the unrealized selling profit is around 90%.
Amid the impact of the U.S. presidential election, Bitcoin surpassed $80,000 for the first time on the 11th. This is a view of the real-time trading status board at Bithumb Lounge Gangnam Branch in Seoul on the same day. Photo by Yonhap News
The El Salvador government adopted Bitcoin as legal tender for the first time in the world in 2021 and has been purchasing Bitcoin using the national budget. President Nayib Bukele named this the 'Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.' Around November 15, 2022, the government suffered losses in the 60% range and received advice from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to reconsider cryptocurrency-related policies, but the indicators have reversed in two years.
President Bukele, who calls himself a 'dictator' to emphasize his strong leadership, began his second term in June and has been investing in Bitcoin without going through social consensus procedures. He maintains a philosophy of 'buying at the bottom and purchasing 1 Bitcoin daily,' while also encouraging public officials to adopt strategies that secure Bitcoin as an asset, such as geothermal energy-based Bitcoin mining, issuing Bitcoin bonds, and promoting cryptocurrency trading.
On July 27th (local time), former President Donald Trump is giving a speech at the Bitcoin 2024 Conference held in Nashville, Tennessee. Photo by AP Yonhap News
Bhutan, known as the 'Kingdom of Isolation,' is also benefiting from the surge in Bitcoin prices. It was recently revealed that the Bhutan government transferred about 1,000 Bitcoins to Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange. Bhutan is the second government after El Salvador to hold Bitcoin. The Bhutan government currently holds Bitcoin worth $900 million (approximately 1.2424 trillion KRW), which amounts to about one-third of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
All the Bitcoins held by the Bhutan government were obtained through mining. It is known that a mining company operates under government orders to mine Bitcoin. As Bitcoin prices approach all-time highs, the Bhutan government appears to be seeking to realize profits.
According to the US cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, at 4:27 p.m. Eastern Time on the same day, the price of one Bitcoin surged 10.98% compared to 24 hours earlier, trading at $88,413 (approximately 123.89 million KRW). This is more than a 20% increase in less than a week compared to the price of around $70,000 (approximately 98 million KRW) traded on the morning of the 5th, before the election of former President Donald Trump was confirmed in the US presidential election.
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