El Salvador Buys 21 More Bitcoin After Gold Pivot

Key Takeaways

• El Salvador sparked debate last week after buying $50 million of gold
• The move enraged the Bitcoin community and undermined the country’s belief in the “digital gold” thesis
• Now, President Nayib Bukele announced that the country has bought 21 more BTC for Bitcoin Day.

El Salvador just can’t stay out of the headlines. Last week, Crypto Twitter was buzzing about the country’s $50 million purchase of gold (and not in a good way). Now, just days after being at the wrath of Bitcoin maxis, El Salvador buys more Bitcoin.

Just in case the Bitcoin community wasn’t sure, President Nayib Bukele reconfirmed the country’s commitment to digital gold.

He has announced that El Salvador has bought another 21 BTC for “Bitcoin Day,.” This update has received immense traction and appreciation from the Bitcoin community on X.

El Salvador Shocks Crypto Twitter with Gold Purchase

For years, Bukele has delighted in his role as Bitcoin’s unofficial sovereign mascot. From posting about Bitcoin buys to declaring himself the “Dictator of El Salvador” in jest, he has consistently painted a picture of a future where Bitcoin underpins El Salvador’s economic destiny.

That’s why last week’s announcement shocked the community, rather than hearing “El Salvador buys more Bitcoin.”

El Salvador bought more gold. Not just a few bars, either. The postage stamp-sized Central American country sank a whopping $50 million into gold.

The purchase marked the country’s first gold purchase in 35 years, increasing its holdings by almost a third. For a nation trying to diversify reserves and build credibility with traditional financial institutions like the IMF, gold made strategic sense.

At the time of the purchase, gold was already enjoying a meteoric run. Spot prices had surged to an all-time high above $3,600 an ounce, propelled by jittery global markets, weakening fiat currencies, and mounting geopolitical uncertainty.

Everyone from central banks to hedge funds, and even Tether, was piling in. Data showed that China and Poland were adding to their reserves, alongside Turkey and India. In addition, the World Gold Council even reported that net central bank purchases had reached levels not seen in over half a century.

For Bukele, dipping a toe (or, more precisely, wading in chest-deep) wasn’t just about chasing a rising asset. It positioned El Salvador alongside heavyweight players and gave the impression its fiscal strategy wasn’t limited to the experimental world of crypto. But that nuance was largely lost on Bitcoiners.

Bitcoin Maxis See Betrayal

The backlash of the gold bet was immediate and loud. The Bitcoin community, long enamored with Bukele’s unapologetic embrace of the cryptocurrency, accused him of hedging his bets in the most traditional (and to them, uninspired) way imaginable.

On X, Bitcoin advocates decried the move as “selling out” and likened it to abandoning first principles. Self-proclaimed “Bitcoin Chief HODLer” Carl B Menger commented:

For many in the Bitcoin space, gold represents the old world order that Bitcoin was invented to displace. Gold cannot be sent across borders in minutes, cannot be programmed, and cannot exist outside physical custody.

And yet here was the sovereign state held up as Bitcoin’s greatest triumph, choosing to buy into it (at record highs, no less).

El Salvador Buys More Bitcoin

Then, just as quickly as the uproar ignited, El Salvador buys more Bitcoin. Over the weekend, Bukele revealed that El Salvador had bought 21 more Bitcoin. The number itself was symbolic: 21 million is the capped supply of Bitcoin, the figure central to its scarcity model.

By snagging 21 coins, El Salvador sent a pointed reminder that Bitcoin is still at the heart of its strategy, whatever headlines gold might be generating.

While 21 BTC pales in comparison to the nation’s total reported stash of over 5,000 coins, it was enough to reignite enthusiasm among the faithful.

To some, this was Bukele’s way of appeasing critics while signaling a balancing act between tradition and innovation. To others, the timing felt like political theater.

It doesn’t hurt that Bitcoin prices had cooled slightly from a recent rally, offering the president a perfect chance to stage another “buy the dip” moment.