El Salvador Has Thousands More Bitcoins Than Previously Known

El Salvador moved over 5,000 BTC worth around $400 million into a cold storage wallet. This nearly doubles the country's previously known bitcoin holdings. President Bukele shared a photo showing the cold wallet holds 5,689.68 BTC worth around $411 million. Previous estimates placed El Salvador's bitcoin holdings at less than 3,000 BTC worth around $205 million. Bukele had suggested the country acquires bitcoin not just from purchases but also from passport sales, currency conversions, mining, and government services. This is the first time Bukele has tied the nation's holdings to a specific bitcoin address, previously just giving occasional updates on purchases. El Salvador became the first country to purchase bitcoin as a treasury asset in September 2021 when each coin cost around $52,000. At the time of writing, bitcoin prices were over $72,000 though it traded as high as $73,000 and as low as $68,000 in the past 24 hours. Most of the bitcoin transferred to the cold wallet arrived over the past week, with the majority on Thursday. According to a tracker, most of the bitcoin in the wallet came from the cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex.