El Salvador’s $135M Bitcoin bet now worth $400M—President Bukele says we have done well

El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele believes that the country’s bet on Bitcoin was a success but its adoption has fallen short. He also told TIME in an interview that the government has done well converting the $135 million BTC bet to $400 million.

Bukele has been elected the El Salvadoran president for the second term and is considered an ally by the crypto community. In the past, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has criticized El Salvador for its decision to make Bitcoin legal tender.

Bukele says his government has done well

In a recent interview with TIME magazine, President Nayib Bukele reflected on the country’s bet on Bitcoin and suggested it has been a partial success. Bukele acknowledged that the asset’s adoption has fallen short of expectations.

“We offered it as an option, and those who chose to use it have benefited from the rise in Bitcoin,” Bukele added. However, he said that Bitcoin is accepted at large businesses like McDonald’s, supermarkets, and hotels.

President Bukele, who is serving his second term, believes “there’s a lot of future in that currency [Bitcoin].” Despite the slow adoption, Bukele says that El Salvador has the largest funds in the world while comparing to BlackRock’s largest BTC ETF.

Bukele explained, “El Salvador invested $135 million. Now, we have $400 million in Bitcoin in the public wallet alone. We have done well as a government.” The country has been aggressively accumulating Bitcoin, adding almost 1 BTC each day.

El Salvador believes the BTC positives outweigh the negatives

In February, at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), Bukele had taken a dig at the US government. In his view, the high taxes do not directly fund the US government. He has been critical that the US government primarily finances itself through Treasury bonds, that is often purchased by the Fed by printing money.

On the contrary, Bukele seems satisfied with Bitcoin’s impact on El Salvador’s branding, investments, and tourism. He reiterated, “It’s brought us a lot of positive attention.” The country has recently launched a cryptocurrency training problem for 80,000 government employees.

Since 2021, the IMF has criticized El Salvador’s decision to make BTC bitcoin legal tender. During the country’s negotiations over financial support, the economic agency has often flagged Bitcoin risks. The 43-year-old believes some criticism is expected and the benefits have outweighed any negatives. He points to the profits and financial inclusion as the positives of the decision. Citing IMF’s comment that the “risks of Bitcoin in El Salvador have not materialized,” Bukele reiterated that they have seen only benefits. He further added that major Wall Street companies and countries already hold Bitcoin reserves.

With Bitcoin being a topic of the 2024 US presidential elections,   El Salvador thinks it has some advantage as the ‘first mover.‘ Suggesting that the US might be a little too late to enter the Bitcoin party.