President Nayib Bukele has defended El Salvador’s Bitcoin (BTC) investment strategy, which the leader described as “profitable,” through X. With prices recovering, Bukele now wants critics to acknowledge their misjudgment and apologize.

Is Bitcoin Investment Green in El Salvador?

In a Dec. 4 post, the president said that if they sold Bitcoin at its current spot price of over $41,500, a new high for 2023, the country would “recover all of its previous investment and realize a profit of over $3.2 million.”

Bitcoin is moving higher at the time of writing, with its move becoming almost parabolic following a massive rally over the weekend that continued into December 4. Following today’s impressive gains, the world’s most valuable coin has surged more than 170% from its 2022 lows.

Based on the candlestick alignment, BTC has more upside, with clear liquidations around $48,000. Extending today’s gains to the 2021 peak of around $70,000 would propel El Salvador into profitability.

According to Nayib Tracker, El Salvador holds 2,762 Bitcoins, which were purchased over several months at an average price of $42,434.31. Using the spot exchange rate at the time of writing on December 4, the value of this batch is $115,252,956.96, which is lower than the actual value of $117,203,558.66 based on the average purchase cost. Therefore, despite Bukele's claim, El Salvador's losses still exceed $1.9 million.

As the crypto winter of 2022 continued into early 2023, El Salvador, the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender, was heavily criticized for its decision to double down on BTC. As prices spiraled downward, critics said the country faced significant losses and pointed to the token’s volatility.

Even so, Bukele and Salvador appear to be more resilient and continue to support Bitcoin. The pro-Bitcoin leaders insist that buying Bitcoin is part of their long-term investment opportunity and they have no intention of selling.

"We have no intention of selling; that has never been our goal," Bukele asserted on X. "Nevertheless, it is important that the naysayers and the authors of these hit pieces retract their statements."

Bukele slams pessimistic journalists and opponents

As the price of Bitcoin rises, Bukele called for journalistic integrity and accountability in reporting on investments in El Salvador, urging equal coverage of gains and perceived losses. The president argued that “if they consider themselves true journalists, they should report on this new reality with the same intensity as they reported on the previous one.”

In early December, multiple factors are boosting BTC. Anticipation for the first spot Bitcoin ETFs and next year’s halving event appear to be driving demand. However, whether this trend will continue next year remains to be seen. #萨尔瓦多  #比特币