San Salvador: President Nayib Bukele announced on Thursday that El Salvador intends to transfer “a big chunk” of its bitcoin assets to an offline device, which will be securely stored in a physical vault within the country’s borders.
“We’ve decided to transfer a big chunk of our Bitcoin to a cold wallet, and store that cold wallet in a physical vault within our national territory,” stated Bukele in a post on X. “It’s not much, but it’s honest work.”
As per Bukele’s social media update on Thursday, El Salvador’s bitcoin holdings are valued at close to $407 million. While the exact magnitude of the holdings remains uncertain, the recent surge in bitcoin prices has revived interest in the world’s largest cryptocurrency, albeit one known for its volatility. Bitcoin reached a record high of $73,800 on Thursday.
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In September 2021, El Salvador made headlines by becoming the first country to adopt bitcoin as legal tender, a move that attracted criticism, particularly from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF, which has been in talks with the financially struggling nation regarding a substantial loan, was among the staunchest critics of this decision.
Bukele has further outlined plans for a crypto-friendly enclave, dubbed Bitcoin City, which would operate tax-free and be powered by geothermal energy sourced from a volcano. However, despite Bukele’s reelection and the commencement of his second term as president, construction has yet to commence on this ambitious project.
