El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele confirmed Monday that his government has purchased the first 200 Bitcoin (BTC) ahead of a new law being introduced on September 7 to legal tender for cryptocurrencies.
Our brokers will buy a lot as the deadline approaches, Bukele said, referring to the September 7 schedule for the full implementation of the new Bitcoin legislation, according to the Coin Telegraph.
The purchase comes as part of a new $150 million Bitcoin fund approved by the El Salvador Congress last week.
The fund will be used to facilitate transfers from Bitcoin to US dollars in the period leading up to the new law being implemented.
At current prices, the purchase value of Bitcoin was just over $10.36 million.
In June of this year, El Salvador became the first country in the world to recognize Bitcoin as legal tender. Although the decision was praised by the Bitcoin community, critics of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund have warned that the new strategy is not a good idea.
Recently, domestic opposition, especially among retirees, has seen hundreds protest across the country against the new Bitcoin law.
