 El Salvador marks 3 years of Bitcoin adoption with $31M profit 
2024-09-07

Update Sept. 7, 12.48 pm UTC: This article has been updated to include quotes from Harshit Gangwar.
El Salvador is celebrating its Bitcoin anniversary, marking three years since the country adopted Bitcoin as legal tender.
El Salvador became the world’s first country to adopt Bitcoin BTCUSD as legal tender three years ago, on Sept. 7, 2021, to promote financial inclusion, facilitate more efficient remittance payments and attract financial innovation.
President Nayib Bukele’s decision to adopt Bitcoin made the country a historical digital asset pioneer, according to Alex Momot, founder and CEO of crypto trading platform Peanut Trade.
He told Cointelegraph:
El Salvador in profit 
El Salvador has been dollar-cost-averaging into Bitcoin since 2021, buying 1 Bitcoin daily as part of its adoption plans.
The country’s wallet is currently sitting on over $31 million worth of profit, according to the Nayib Bukele Portfolio Tracker website.
Cointelegraph
El Salvador bought its Bitcoin holdings at an average price of $43,877 per BTC. Bitcoin traded at $54,300 as of 10:55 am UTC, Sept. 7.
According to Momot, El Salvador’s $31 million Bitcoin profit makes the decision a net positive in economic terms despite the initial criticism. 
The CEO told Cointelegraph:
El Salvador currently holds a total of 5,865 Bitcoin worth over $318 million, according to the country’s treasury website.Cointelegraph
President Nayib Bukele’s decision received widespread criticism after Bitcoin fell from its previous all-time high of $69,000 in November 2021 after the collapse of the FTX exchange. El Salvador’s Bitcoin holdings fell deeply in the red after Bitcoin fell as low as $16,000 during the bear market.
Why haven’t major economies followed suit?
Since Bitcoin’s economic model benefits early adopters, crypto investors anticipated a wave of countries following El Salvador’s bold decision to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender.
However, only one additional country has since adopted Bitcoin as legal tender, while major economies remain hesitant.
In April 2022, the Central African Republic became the second country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender and legalized the use of cryptocurrencies to bolster the economy and financial inclusion.
Larger economies will likely stray away from Bitcoin adoption due to their dependence on relations with international creditors, explained Momot:
Even El Salvador was pressured by the International Monetary Fund to reverse its 2021 decision, according to Harshit Gangwar, the head of marketing and investor relations at Transak.
He told Cointelegraph:
Brazilian lawmakers have expressed interest in establishing a legal framework for Bitcoin adoption, but concrete regulations have yet to be developed.
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