The government of El Salvador added to its bitcoin stockpile by buying 420 bitcoins worth nearly USD 25 million.
This purchase was announced by President Nayib Bukele through his social media accounts, which also shows their seriousness in adopting bitcoin as a legal means of payment.
This is El Salvador's first bitcoin purchase since September 20, when President Bukele bought 150 bitcoins.
"The waiting time is very long, but worth the wait. We just bought 420 bitcoins," said Bukele on his Twitter account. For information, 1 bitcoin currently has an exchange rate of USD 59 thousand.
In early September, El Salvador became the first country to adopt bitcoin as a legal tender. According to Bukele, the move will reduce the cost of remittances from Salvadorans working abroad.
In total, currently El Salvador holds 1,120 bitcoins, the value of which is close to USD 66 million.
El Salvador's economy is currently very dependent on money sent by its citizens from abroad. Its value reaches USD 6 billion or about a quarter of their gross domestic income.
In fact, about a fifth of El Salvador's population depends on remittances from family members working abroad.
In addition to legalizing bitcoin as a means of payment, El Salvador is also mining the cryptocurrency, which uses geothermal energy from volcanoes.
Bitcoin mining itself is often the target of criticism from environmentalists because it wastes electricity and in turn, wastes resources such as coal. It is feared that this will have a negative impact on the future of the Earth, especially in the midst of the threat of climate change.
Then renewable energy from volcanoes might be the solution because it is considered clean for mining Bitcoin.