President Nayib Bukele announced on Thursday that El Salvador will move “a big chunk” of its Bitcoin holdings to an offline device that will be kept in a real vault on the country’s soil.
In a post on X, Bukele, who was re-elected to a second term as president last month, stated “We’ve decided to transfer a big chunk of our Bitcoin to a cold wallet, and store that cold wallet in a physical vault within our national territory,” he added”It’s not much, but it’s honest work.”
On Thursday, Bukele’s social media account revealed that El Salvador had about $407 million worth of bitcoins.
The exact extent of the holdings is still unknown, but the world’s largest—albeit volatile—cryptocurrency has attracted attention again thanks to a recent surge in its price. At $73,800, bitcoin reached a new high on Thursday.
El Salvador received negative press after being the first nation in the world to accept bitcoin as legal cash in September 2021. The International Monetary Fund, which has been negotiating a sizable loan with the cash-strapped government, was among the most vocal opponents.
Additionally, Bukele has drawn up ideas for a tax-free cryptocurrency refuge that would run on a volcano’s geothermal energy. There is still no construction on this so-called Bitcoin City as he gets ready to take office again.
