El Salvador adds 5 more Bitcoins to strategic reserves

El Salvador bought 5 more BTC in the last 24 hours, bringing its total Bitcoin holdings to roughly 6055 BTC, valued at $618.9 million.

The country continues to increase its holdings even though only about 8% of the Salvadorian population uses Bitcoin for transactions.

El Salvador buys more Bitcoin despite its deal with the IMF

El Salvador continues to acquire Bitcoin despite the International Monetary Fund’s limits. The country had agreed with the agency to reduce its Bitcoin transactions, make private-sector Bitcoin acceptance voluntary, and even limit its activity with the Chivo wallet to secure a $1.4 billion loan. A loan that the IMF has insisted will help support El Salvador’s economic reforms.

The IMF noted that while many of the risks have not yet materialized, there is joint recognition that further efforts are needed to enhance transparency and mitigate potential fiscal and financial stability risks from the Bitcoin project.

Nevertheless, the country has purchased 5 more BTC in the last 24 hours, pushing its holdings to 6055. On January 21, El Salvador’s government also bought 12 BTC in just two days, valued at over $1 million. At the time, it only had 6044 holdings, meaning that its BTC holdings had grown by 0.18% in less than two weeks.

El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele advocated for more Bitcoin investments

The Salvadorian government made Bitcoin legal tender on September 7, 2021. At the time, President Nayib Bukele maintained that he wanted 70% of Salvadorans who do not use banks to buy BTC, growing to be the asset’s most prominent backers.

Bukele has continued encouraging Bitcoin acquisitions, even advocating for the “one Bitcoin a day” policy in 2024. He also blamed the opposition leaders for making individuals miss out on Bitcoin investments when BTC traded at lower prices.

Bukele has received recognition for his efforts to build BTC reserves, including from Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who called the country’s Bitcoin investment impressive.

Despite El Salvador’s leadership in Bitcoin adoption, Poland has now surpassed it in cryptocurrency ATM expansion. Poland added 10 new Bitcoin ATMs on Jan. 27, bringing its total to 219 active machines and surpassing El Salvador as the fifth-largest cryptocurrency ATM network globally after the US, Canada, Australia, and Spain.

Poland added 24 crypto ATMs in its four-month installation spree that began in October 2024. Numerous other countries, including current leaders Canada, Spain, and Australia, continue to see an uptick in local active crypto ATMs month over month, according to Bitcoin ATM Radar data.

Salvadoran digital assets regulator Juan Carlos Reyes, the president of the National Commission of Digital Assets (NCDA), said he was “very happy to see that the adoption of Bitcoin continues to expand

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