Alejandro Zelaya, the treasury minister of El Salvador, called out the critics of the investments that his country, through the action of President Nayib Bukele, has made in bitcoin. Zelaya stated that there had not been any losses because the bitcoin purchased — around 2,300 BTC — had not been sold. He also qualified the coverage that some media is engaging in about the issue as “biased.”
El Salvador Dismisses Bitcoin Losses
The government of El Salvador is being criticized for the bet that its president, Nayib Bukele, has made on bitcoin, purchasing more than 2,300 BTC for the treasury of the country. Alejandro Zelaya, who is the treasury minister of El Salvador, has minimized the loss that the country has taken as a result of these investments, saying that it is not significant in the big picture.
On the issue, Zelaya stated:
There is a lot of fuss about our Bitcoin strategy, they speculate with an alleged loss of $40 million that has not occurred, because we have not sold the coins, they have not been disposed of.
In an earlier interview, Zelaya had also stated these coins purchased were not to be sold at a loss, and that they were going to wait until the price reached higher numbers.
Biased Media Coverage
The treasury minister of El Salvador complained about media coverage on this issue, noting that reports had been biased due to the position that some media outlets have on bitcoin. Zelaya even named some outlets by name, declaring:
I have even seen Deutsche Welle, with all due respect, I have seen biased reports, it says that El Salvador is being dragged down by a fiscal risk of $40 million. Oh my God! Our General Budget of the Nation is almost $8,000 million; $40 million does not represent even 0.5% of our budget.
However, to Zelaya, this is proof that some of these media outlets have animosity towards bitcoin which is also affecting El Salvador as the first country to adopt it as legal tender.
Even with the current unrealized losses on this bitcoin investment, the appreciation that Salvadorans have for their president is mostly favorable, with Bukele’s administration earning more than eight points out of ten in two recent polls completed by different national universities. Some institutions are worried about the lack of transparency in which these investments are being carried out directly by Bukele.
What do you think about the losses that El Salvador is experiencing due to its bitcoin investments? Tell us in the comments section below.
Sergio Goschenko
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