El Salvador has increased its Bitcoin purchases a day after agreeing to an International Monetary Fund deal that would require it to scale back its government-run crypto activities.
On December 19, the first country to accept Bitcoin as legal tender and hosts Bitcoin strategic reserve added 11 BTC worth over $1 million to his holdings. With recent purchases, the country's total holdings now stand at more than 5,980 Bitcoins, with a current value of more than $577 million according to the National Bitcoin Office controller.
So far, El Salvador's Bitcoin collection has followed the steady pace of its “1 Bitcoin a day” program, launched by President Nayib Bukele after making the cryptocurrency legal tender in 2022.
However, the latest purchase deviated from the strategy and aligned with the National Bitcoin Office's plans to continue buying Bitcoin at a “faster pace,” as confiirm by Bitcoin office director Stacy Herbert on December 19.
This follows the country's recent $1.4 billion that has not yet been confirmed IMF agreementwhich is ordering changes to its Bitcoin policy. The global regulator has warned again about the economic risks that the adoption of Bitcoin could cause to the financial stability of the country.
As part of the agreement, El Salvador has agreed to remove the mandatory requirements for businesses to accept Bitcoin, making it optional, and to limit tax payments to US dollars. In addition, the country will also wind the Chivo crypto wallet, launched in 2021 as the country's state-backed platform to facilitate Bitcoin transactions.
Nevertheless, according to Herbert, the country will continue to accept Bitcoin as a legal tender and expand its efforts to consolidate its position as a Bitcoin-focused economy. This includes promoting Bitcoin capital markets, fostering educational programs, and supporting private sector Bitcoin wallets to serve the growing ecosystem.
In addition, initiatives such as blockchain developer training and financial literacy programs will remain central to El Salvador's Bitcoin strategy as governments around the world become more curious about Bitcoin, encouraged by President the incoming US Donald Trump. establish a plan strategic Bitcoin reserve.
In particular, there are regulators in Brazil is recommended allocating 5% of the nation's $370 billion treasury to a strategic Bitcoin reserve. Elsewhere, there is a vice president in the Russian parliament persuasion Finance Minister Anton Siluanov to discuss a similar approach.
Last month, the Polish minister Sławomir Mentzen was also dig the idea of Poland holding Bitcoin in an effort to make the country more crypto-friendly.
