How much money did El Salvador lose by betting on Bitcoin?

El Salvador’s popular president, Nayib Bukele, was a big supporter of Bitcoin during the 2021 bull run. Following the bull run buying frenzy, the Salvadoran leader announced in November that the country would add one Bitcoin to its balance sheet every day. Since then, he has been heavily criticized for his reckless behavior by everyone from university professors to U.S. lawmakers.

But how has this investment actually performed?

According to the NayibTracker website — which uses the president’s tweets to keep track of how much bitcoin he has bought (data is notoriously difficult to obtain from the government) and calculates dollar cost average — Bukele has invested 3,120 bitcoins and is now down nearly 8%.

Data shows that the average price of BTC purchased by the eccentric former marketing executive is currently $40,498 per coin.

All in all, he spent more than $126 million on cryptocurrencies; it’s now worth $116 million, which means a drop of more than $10 million, or nearly 8%.

All of his BTC purchases were below the asset’s all-time high of $69,044 set in November 2021, and in fact, the most expensive batch was 420 Bitcoins that sold for $60,345.

So it will be a while before he sees a profit. But it’s not all negative: El Salvador was expected to default on its massive national debt last year. Since then, the country’s bonds have delivered strong returns for investors.

Before Bukele became president, tiny El Salvador was known mainly for surfing, a devastating civil war and gang violence. He has since sought to turn it into a tech hub and attract foreign investment, including from China.

The country's murder rate has dropped dramatically as its notorious gangs have been cracked down on, something Bukele hopes will attract a vibrant expatriate community and stop many Salvadorans from heading north to the United States.

While Salvadorans appear to be happier with improved security in the country, Bitcoin has been a sore point.