"Continuing Purchases to Strategically Stockpile Bitcoin"
El Salvador, the first country in the world to adopt cryptocurrency as legal tender, has announced that it will continue to purchase Bitcoin.
According to major foreign media on the 19th, El Salvador secured a bailout worth $1.4 billion (2.0291 trillion KRW) from the IMF on the previous day, on the condition of reducing Bitcoin-related policies in the public sector.
The IMF stated as a condition for providing the bailout, "Bitcoin-related economic activities, transactions, and purchases in the public sector will be restricted, and legal reforms will be implemented to encourage the private sector to voluntarily adopt Bitcoin."
However, El Salvador announced the day after the IMF's announcement that it would continue to purchase Bitcoin. Stacy Herbert, head of El Salvador's presidential Bitcoin office (ONBTC), said on X (formerly Twitter), "Bitcoin remains legal tender, and El Salvador will continue to purchase it for strategic Bitcoin reserves."
This policy is analyzed as a measure to prevent the perception that Bitcoin's status in El Salvador has declined following the bailout from the IMF.
Under President Bukele's leadership, El Salvador became the first country in the world to introduce Bitcoin as legal tender in 2021 and has been purchasing Bitcoin using the national budget. The El Salvador government calls this the "Strategic Bitcoin Reserve" (SBR).
Previously, the IMF urged El Salvador to revoke Bitcoin's legal tender status, citing "significant risks in fiscal stability, fiscal soundness, consumer protection, and fiscal contingent liabilities."
El Salvador, which holds 5,968 Bitcoins, suffered a loss of about 60% around November 2022 due to a decline in Bitcoin prices, but it is reported to have gained over 90% profit recently due to a price surge caused by the "Trump effect."
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