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The adoption of Bitcoin as a strategic asset by smaller nation-states may be the catalyst that drives bigger countries to follow suit.
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El Salvador purchased two additional Bitcoin (BTC) on Feb. 1. The country typically acquires one Bitcoin per day as part of its Bitcoin strategic reserve initiative but has been purchasing BTC at an accelerated pace.
According to the government’s Bitcoin tracker, El Salvador currently has a total of 6,055 BTC, valued at over $612 million, and purchased over 50 BTC in the last 30 days alone.
The country recently rescinded its legal tender law requiring businesses to accept BTC as payment to secure a loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
News of the deal received mixed reactions from the crypto community. However, despite the recent IMF deal, El Salvador has continued accumulating Bitcoin for its national reserve.
El Salvador Bitcoin holdings. Source: El Salvador National Bitcoin Office
Related: The United States is following El Salvador’s playbook — Web3 exec
El Salvador sticks to national Bitcoin reserve strategy
As part of the $1.4 billion IMF deal, El Salvador had to make BTC payments voluntary, “confine” public sector involvement in the Bitcoin industry, and privatize the Chivo wallet.
The country acquired 11 BTC, valued at over $1 million, one day after signing the deal with the IMF.
In a Dec. 19 post, the director of El Salvador’s National Bitcoin Office, Stacy Herbert, said that El Salvador may begin accumulating BTC at an accelerated pace.
The National Bitcoin Office acquired an additional 12 BTC on Jan. 19. Following the purchase, spokespeople from the government agency told Cointelegraph that the Office intends to ramp up purchases in 2025.
“We have achieved not only the greatest rebrand in history, but we are now an actual case study for a winning country strategy,” the spokesperson said.
El Salvador’s Bitcoin treasury strategy has drawn praise from Bitcoin maximalists and attention from crypto firms — including Fidelity Digital Assets.
The digital asset firm’s January 2025 report titled 2025 Look Ahead specifically noted El Salvador’s Bitcoin treasury strategy as a potential catalyst to broaden nation-state adoption.
Analysts from Fidelity Digital Assets argued that larger nations would adopt Bitcoin as the risk of not owning any Bitcoin grows more apparent and the fear of missing out sets in.
Magazine: El Salvador’s national Bitcoin chief has been orange-pilling Argentina
This article first appeared at Cointelegraph.com News
