On Thursday, Salvador’s President Naib Bukele tweeted that his government had taken advantage of the recent Bitcoin (BTC) price cut and added 420 additional BTCs to the country’s stock thus bringing the total national stock to about 1120 BTC.
He also tweeted “It was a long wait, but worth it,” he tweeted, “We just bought the dip!”
Shortly afterward, he tweeted, “We are already benefiting from the #Bitcoin we just bought.” Between tweets, the value of bitcoin of the country increased by about 0.4%, or $100,000.
Many viewers online are speculating on the importance of El Salvador purchasing specifically 420 BTC, and even connected it to a popular slang term for marijuana use.
To this “Nice! blaze it!” commented Reddit user u/theylie86, using another popular term in marijuana culture.
Various other opinions include “I’m beginning to believe he’s doing this on purpose,” Reddit user u/EGarrett speculated. “When I checked in now, he was born in 1981, so he might as well. It is interesting to see the results of the millennials who began to inherit the world”.
The 420 BTC is valued at approximately $24.6 million. The acquisition brings the country’s total bitcoin to 1,120 BTC, valued at approximately $87.4 million. The country’s average purchase price rate is above $ 53,300.
El Salvador bought two batches of 200 BTC on September 6 this year and grabbed another batch of 150 BTC a day later. On September 19, El Salvador bought another 150 BTC, bringing the country’s total holdings to 700 BTC.
However, other observers were a bit less positive about the recent acquisition and further expressed concern about the security of the country’s bitcoin holdings.
To which Dolo Mite, a Twitter user, responded to a tweet by Anthony Pampliano spreading the news of the 420-BTC purchase, asking, “Who owns their private keys?” The user also asked what would happen in case the country gets hacked.
Douglas Rodriguez, Chief of El Salvador Central Bank said to Bloomberg earlier this month that the Latin American country continues investing in bitcoin, under the expectations that it would soon lose its reputation as a speculative asset and turn into a legal payment system.
Rodriguez also said “We do not see any risk. Perhaps the risk of reversal”, and Bitcoin will become a payment system, a mechanism for financial inclusion.
Bitcoin price recently fell to $58,570 after hitting an all-time high of $66,976 earlier this month. Despite the decline, cryptocurrency has still risen 20% since September 7.
