Сальвадор снова усиливает позиции в биткоине, несмотря на слухи о приостановке покупок Translation: Headline: El Salvador Strengthens Bitcoin Holdings Again Amid Rumors of Purchase Suspension

On November 18, El Salvador increased its reserves in the leading cryptocurrency by acquiring 1,090 BTC valued at $101 million, as announced by the country’s president, Nayib Bukele.

Currently, the South American nation manages 7,474 BTC, amounting to over $688 million. At the end of August, authorities distributed these assets across 14 new addresses due to a potential risk posed by quantum computing.

This news coincided with a decline in the value of digital gold, dropping below $90,000 for the first time in seven months. At the time of writing, the asset is trading around $91,400, having decreased by 4% in the last day and 13% over the week.

It remains unclear whether El Salvador is continuing to purchase the primary cryptocurrency.

In August, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) stated that since the signing of a loan agreement in December 2024, the government had not acquired any Bitcoin. However, data suggests the country has continued to add to its balance at a rate of 1 BTC per day throughout this period.

Representatives of the institution attributed the discrepancies to accounting peculiarities in the Chivo wallet. Allegedly, it does not track how much Bitcoin is held in user accounts and does not adjust its reserves accordingly.

As the app does not sell cryptocurrency, there are minor discrepancies—usually no more than 1%. This may create the impression that the government is accumulating cryptocurrency when, in fact, it is not.

Bukele responded to the IMF’s demands by stating that he had no intention of halting the purchase of digital gold.

However, his statement contradicts an official notice sent to the IMF in July by El Salvador’s finance minister, which indicated that the authorities ceased accumulating cryptocurrency reserves in February.

It’s worth recalling that since 2021, the country has also been mining digital assets using geothermal energy from volcanoes. There is a possibility that the cryptocurrency could be added to the government’s balance in this manner.

In October 2023, El Salvador launched its own mining pool, Lava Pool. Reports indicate that over three years, it has mined a total of 474 BTC through this pool.