- El Salvador's government bought 500 bitcoins Monday for an average price of $30,744.
- President Nayib Bukele announced the purchase on Twitter: "El Salvador just bought the dip!"
- It marks the largest single purchase by the country, which now holds 2,301 tokens.
El Salvador's government added another 500 bitcoin to its stockpile on Monday, marking its largest purchase yet of the cryptocurrency amid the broad market rout.
Bitcoin bull and millennial President Naybib Bukele announced the expansion of the government's bitcoin coffers in a tweet Monday: "El Salvador just bought the dip!"
—Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) May 9, 2022
According to Bukele, the purchase was made at an average price of $30,744 per bitcoin — or about $15.5 million total. Previously, El Salvador's largest purchase was on January 21, when it bought 410 tokens for an average price of $36,585.
It's bitcoin reserves are now up to 2,301 tokens, according to Bloomberg data.
The latest purchase came after bitcoin fell as much as 12% on Monday to dip below $30,000 amid a steep sell-off in crypto and stocks. Currently, bitcoin is trading at around $31,598, more than 50% its all-time high from November.
The nation first started adding the crypto to its government balance sheet in September 2021, when bitcoin became legal tender in El Salvador.
Bukele had previously announced a $1 billion "bitcoin bond" and the world's first "bitcoin city," which would be built next to a volcano with the intention of harvesting geothermal energy for the project. He also has said El Salvador's bitcoin profits would be used to build 20 schools.
But investors haven't flocked to the bitcoin bond, and as of last week the crypto-backed offering hadn't drawn a single buyer.