Alejandro Zelaya is the El Salvador’s treasury Minister. He called out those who were critical of the bitcoin investments his country made through President Nayib Bukele. Zelaya said that there were no losses due to the fact that the bitcoin bought — approximately 2,300 BTC – had not been sold. Zelaya also said that the media coverage on the issue is biased.”
The El Salvador government is being criticised for its bet on bitcoin by Nayib Bukele, the president of the country. He purchased more than 2,300 Bitcoin to fund the country’s treasury. Alejandro Zelaya is El Salvador’s treasury Minister. He has claimed that this isn’t a significant loss in the overall picture.
On the issue, Zelaya stated:
The Bitcoin strategy is the subject of much controversy. They speculate about a loss of $40 Million. We have not sold the coins and they have not been disposed.
In an earlier interview Zelaya also stated that the coins they had purchased were not to lose and that they would wait until the price reached higher levels.
Biased Media Coverage
El Salvador’s treasury minister complained about media coverage of the issue. He noted that media reports were biased because some media outlets had bitcoin-related positions. Zelaya named several outlets and declared:
Even Deutsche Welle! I’m sorry, I’ve seen biased reports. It says El Salvador is being held back by a $40 million fiscal risk. Oh my goodness! Our National General Budget is nearly $8,000,000,000; $40 million doesn’t even represent 0.5%.
Zelaya says this is evidence that some media outlets are hostile to bitcoin, which is also affecting El Salvador, the first country to adopt it.
Even with the unrealized losses from this bitcoin investment, Salvadorans still appreciate their president. Bukele’s administration scored more than eight out of ten points in two recent polls that were conducted by different universities. Some institutions are concerned about the lack of transparency regarding these investments being made directly by Bukele.
