El Salvador Celebrates 3 Years Of Adoption Of Bitcoin With A Profit Of IDR 478.2 Billion

El Salvador President Nayib Bukele decided to adopt Bitcoin on September 7, 2021 (photo: x @nayibbukele)

JAKARTA - Three years after becoming the first country in the world to adopt Bitcoin as a legal tender, El Salvador celebrated its achievement with a profit of more than IDR 478.2 billion (about USD 31 million) from its investment in cryptocurrencies. President Nayib Bukele's move to adopt Bitcoin on September 7, 2021 initially drew widespread criticism, but now the country is considered a pioneer in digital asset innovation.

Since its adoption, El Salvador has consistently bought Bitcoin, implementing an average purchase strategy (dollar-cost-averaging), by buying one Bitcoin every day. To date, El Salvador has 5.865 Bitcoins with a total value of more than IDR 4.9 trillion (approximately USD 318 million), based on data from the country's Ministry of Finance website. Bitcoin is currently trading at a price of around IDR 838 million (approximately USD 54,300) per BTC, well above the country's average purchase price of IDR 678 million (approximately USD 43,877) per BTC.

According to Alex Momot, founder and CEO of the crypto trading platform totaling Trade, El Salvador's Bitcoin experiment can be considered a success although not all aspects of reform can be fully assessed. However, the financial gain of IDR478.2 billion from Bitcoin strengthens Bukele's position and provides additional validation to this bold cryptocurrency experiment.

Although El Salvador has enjoyed financial benefits from its Bitcoin adoption decision, only one other country is following in its footsteps. In April 2022, the Central African Republic became the second country to adopt Bitcoin as a legal tender to strengthen the economy and financial inclusion. However, other major countries are still hesitant to follow these steps because of their dependence on relations with international creditors.

Despite the pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to overturn the Bitcoin adoption decision, El Salvador remains with this policy. The country's success in in integrating Bitcoin as a daily currency and national investment has further strengthened its position as a pioneer in the realm of global cryptocurrencies.