El Salvador is celebrating a milestone: the country’s Bitcoin stash has officially crossed the $700 million mark, coinciding with the fourth anniversary of its bold decision to adopt the cryptocurrency as legal tender.
To mark the occasion, the government purchased 21 BTC on “Bitcoin Day”, a symbolic nod to Bitcoin’s fixed supply of 21 million coins. With this latest addition, El Salvador’s holdings now total 6,313.18 BTC, according to figures released by the nation’s Bitcoin Office the unit that oversees its crypto reserves.
“Buying 21 Bitcoin for Bitcoin Day,” President Nayib Bukele announced in a celebratory post on X (formerly Twitter).
At current prices, that stash is worth just over $700 million.
A symbolic purchase amid policy changes
This latest buy diverges from the Bitcoin Office’s “1 BTC a day” strategy, a policy that began after El Salvador passed its landmark Bitcoin Law in 2021. While the government has occasionally made bigger market moves, this one was largely ceremonial reinforcing Bukele’s ongoing commitment to Bitcoin despite mounting pressure from international institutions.
Four years since the historic Bitcoin Law
Back in 2021, El Salvador became the first country in the world to recognize Bitcoin as legal tender. The move made global headlines and was hailed by Bitcoin advocates as a historic step toward mainstream adoption.
But it also sparked criticism. Economists and global bodies, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), warned of potential risks from extreme volatility to fiscal instability.
The IMF, in particular, has remained a vocal critic. In 2025, it forced El Salvador to tone down its Bitcoin ambitions as part of a $1.4 billion loan agreement. As a condition of the deal, the country had to:
- Halt public Bitcoin purchases
- Repeal mandatory Bitcoin acceptance for merchants
- Shut down its state-run Chivo wallet program
Since then, questions have been raised about whether El Salvador is still actively buying BTC. An IMF review published in July claimed that reported purchases were likely internal wallet transfers, not new acquisitions from the open market.
Bitcoin still central to Bukele’s vision
Despite the pushback, El Salvador hasn’t slowed down its public embrace of Bitcoin. On September 7, the Bitcoin Office revealed that around 80,000 public servants have now completed Bitcoin certification programs. The country is also rolling out new education initiatives focused on both Bitcoin and artificial intelligence.
Meanwhile, El Salvador’s National Assembly recently passed an Investment Banking Law, allowing select banks to operate as official Bitcoin service providers, digital asset issuers, and managers all regulated by the Central Reserve Bank and the Superintendency of the Financial System.
The ripple effects are spreading beyond El Salvador. Countries like Pakistan and Bolivia are reportedly studying its playbook as they weigh their own Bitcoin strategies.
The bigger picture
Four years on, El Salvador’s Bitcoin experiment continues to be one of the most closely watched stories in global finance. Supporters hail it as visionary, critics call it reckless but one thing is certain: the tiny Central American nation has cemented its place at the center of the crypto conversation.
