The Central American country of El Salvador made history in mid-2021 by becoming the first country in the world to do so bitcoin (BTC) became legal tender and also invested in crypto as a country. Meanwhile, the price of bitcoin has crashed and the original investment is far in the red. However, according to a minister, it is nonsense to say that the country has suffered a loss, because they have not yet sold a single bitcoin.
El Salvador is in the red with BTC
During a press conference El Salvador’s Finance Minister Alejandro Zelaja responded to a question from a journalist highlighting the sharp decline in bitcoin. The minister reacted emotionally to this question:
“There is a clear criticism of Bitcoin as such, not El Salvador’s strategy. El Salvador is what interests them least, the media is not interested in what happens to our economy, they are not interested in what happens to our people, what happens to inflation.”
The country is reportedly at least $40 million in the red on its bitcoin investment. However, according to Zelaya, it is complete nonsense to approach it this way. According to him, El Salvador has suffered no loss at all, after all, they have not sold bitcoins. A remarkable position from a minister, to say the least.
“I’ve said it repeatedly: An assumed loss of $40 million has not occurred because we did not sell the coins.”
Risks of Bitcoin
At the same time, Zelaya ridiculed the idea that a bitcoin investment could potentially be risky. According to him, the risk of a bitcoin investment is minimal and emphasizing so-called risks is silly.
Nevertheless, the value of the 2,300 bitcoins in El Salvador’s treasury has fallen by almost 50%. This is of course extra painful because these bitcoins were bought with tax money. At present, El Salvador’s total investment only $50 million left worth.
