El Salvador paid off an $800 million bond on the same day, with its president investigating critics who claimed the government would default over its decision to make bitcoin legal.
El Salvador pays bonds worth $800 million
On Tuesday, January 24, the President of El Salvador, Neb Bukele, announce The Central American country has paid in full its $800 million bond with interest due on the same day.
The country’s finance minister, Alejandro Zelaya, too has been confirmed Payment on his Twitter account. The news is significant for El Salvador as the country’s credit rating has been downgraded to levels that reflect a significant risk of default.
President Bukele deals with the critics
In September 2021, El Salvador adopted bitcoin as legal tender, drawing significant criticism from international financial agencies. Criticism intensified as the country bought more bitcoin, and the price of the asset plummeted.
President Bukele, who has taken to Twitter to address the critics, said there are hundreds of articles from “nearly every old international news outlet” saying that because “we bet on bitcoin,” El Salvador was defaulting on its debt by January 2023.” books:
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They all said that without hitting @employee According to the deal, we won’t be able to pay our bond for 2023 because “# Bitcoin losses”.
I have the receipts… https://t.co/exbQxjdEj4https://t.co/1Hl4pRoBkhhttps://t.co/xcMehNGPZMhttps://t.co/gVK8Jlp3Vqhttps://t.co/qpyz1tDd00
– Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) January 24, 2023
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However, since El Salvador had successfully paid off its debts, he found only one article from a Colombian newspaper breaking the news. He also called out “economic geniuses” who said El Salvador was bankrupt but received no response.
on the flip side
- With successful repayment, El Salvador’s next outstanding debt of $367 million plus interest is due in January 2025.
Why should you bother
Comments from the international community have not slowed El Salvador’s efforts. The country now holds 2,516 BTC and has taught more than 10,000 students in 2022 about Bitcoin.
The former president’s attack on mainstream media was covered in:
Nayeb Bukele mocks Bloomberg for a one-sided story about El Salvador
Read about the nation’s bitcoin program below:
El Salvador is working towards wider adoption of bitcoin, educating 10,000 students about the asset