El Salvador to Transfer Significant Bitcoin Holdings to Physical Vault
President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador stated on Thursday that a significant portion of the country’s bitcoin assets would be transferred to an offline device and securely stored in a physical vault within the nation’s borders.
Bukele, who was re-elected as president for a second term last month, explained in a post on X, “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”. He added, “It’s not much, but it’s honest work.”
According to Bukele’s social media account, El Salvador’s bitcoin portfolio is valued at close to $407 million. While the exact size of the holdings remains unclear, a recent rally in bitcoin values has reignited interest in the world’s largest, albeit volatile, cryptocurrency, reaching a record high of $73,800 on Thursday.
El Salvador made history in September 2021 by becoming the first country to establish bitcoin as legal tender, a move that received significant criticism, notably from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which has been negotiating a large loan with the financially struggling country.
Bukele has also outlined plans for a tax-free crypto haven powered by geothermal energy from a volcano, according to a Reuters report. However, as he prepares to enter his second term as president, ground has yet to be broken on this initiative, known as Bitcoin City.
