El Salvador’s wildly popular president Nayib Bukele was a big backer of Bitcoin during the 2021 bull market. After his bull-run buying spree, the Salvadoran leader announced in November of last year that the country would add one Bitcoin a day to its fortress balance sheet. He’s since been slagged off for being reckless by everyone from university professors to U.S. lawmakers.
But how has the investment actually performed?
According to the NayibTracker website—which has used the president’s tweets to record just how much Bitcoin he’s bought (it’s notoriously difficult to get figures from the government) and has done the dollar cost averaging—Bukele is down nearly 8% on his investment of 3,120 BTC.
The average price of BTC the eccentric ex-marketing executive has bought is now at $40,498 per coin, according to the data.
All in all, he spent over $126 million on the cryptocurrency; it’s now worth $116 million, meaning he’s down over $10 million—a nearly 8% dip.
All of the BTC he’s bought has been below the asset’s all-time November 2021 all-time high of $69,044, in fact, with the most expensive batch being 420 coins priced at $60,345.
So, he still has a while to go before he sees a profit. But it’s not all negative: El Salvador was expected to default on its massive national debts last year. The country’s bonds have since given investors handsome returns.
Before Bukele became president, tiny El Salvador was mostly known for its surfing, a devastating civil war, and gang violence. He has since tried to turn it into a tech hub and attract foreign—including Chinese—investment.
With a harsh crackdown on the country’s notorious gangbangers, the nation’s murder rate has plunged; Bukele hopes this will attract a vibrant expat community—and stop so many Salvadorans from making the journey north to the States.
But while Salvadorans seem to be happier with improved security in the country, Bitcoin has always been a bit of a sore point.
If Bukele’s bet ever gets back in the black, he might have to orange pill his citizens.
Edited by Ryan Ozawa.
