- El Salvador’s president Nayib Bukele has defended Bitcoin to long-time critic Peter Schiff, saying it’s more rewarding than gold.
- According to Bukele, had the country converted its 44,000 oz. ($79M) gold reserve to BTC, it would now be worth $204M.
Salvadorian president Nayib Bukele recently briefed long-time gold bug and Bitcoin critique Peter Schiff on the benefits of Bitcoin (BTC). The two conversed shortly on Twitter after Bukele confirmed having increased the country’s Bitcoin stash as prices plummeted below $50K.
On Friday night, El Salvador purchased another 150 BTC as Bitcoin dipped from $52K to below $44K. Schiff questioned Bukele on this move, asking,
There’s a lot more dips coming. How much taxpayer money do you intend to waste?
To this, the Salvadorian replied,
None. We’re already in the green from our last purchase, in less than 24 hours.
Bitcoin vs gold reserve
Furthermore, he explained to Schiff that El Salvador has to live with millions in losses for failing to convert its gold reserve to Bitcoin a year ago, possibly implying that Schiff has been experiencing the same losses too.
You know boomer, we have 44,106 oz. of gold in our reserves. Worth $79 million, down 0.37% from a year ago. If we had sold it a year ago and bought #Bitcoin, it would now be valued at $204 million.
Spencer Schiff, son of Peter Schiff is not a chip off the old block in the sense that he is a strong Bitcoin proponent. Reportedly, Spencer went all-in on Bitcoin in March after dedicating 100 percent of his portfolio to holding Bitcoin. Contrary to his father, he encouraged Bukele in his pursuit of the world’s largest digital asset, saying,
My dad’s reply is your signal to buy more.
Bitcoin pumpers claim that #Bitcoin is a better store of value than #gold because it's price has risen more than gold's price. By that logic #Ethereum is a better store of value than Bitcoin. If Bitcoin is gold 2.0 then Ether is Bitcoin 2.0. Has Ether already disrupted Bitcoin?
— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) December 6, 2021
In September, MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor expressed similar views to those of Bukele. The Bitcoin enthusiast said he would have made a “multi-billion-dollar mistake” last year had he held on to gold rather than Bitcoin. Like El Salvador, Saylor has been on a Bitcoin acquisition spree. His company now holds a total of 121,044 Bitcoin after purchasing 7,002 more BTC as November came to a close.
El Salvador presses on with BTC
Since September, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has been one of the most vocal critics of El Salvador’s Bitcoin adoption as legal tender. The organization cited “significant risks” to consumer protection, financial integrity, and financial stability, in addition to fiscal contingent liabilities. Citing the IMF, the governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, voiced the same concerns last week. Even the World Bank rejected offering the nation any assistance in its crypto quest.
Related: El Salvador to launch Bitcoin City backed by $1 billion Bitcoin bond
But even then, El Salvador pushes on strong, now planning to build a volcano-powered Bitcoin City through BTC bonds. This further strains its relationship with the IMF – something that might affect its current negotiations for a $1.3B loan.
At press time, BTC was trading at $48,199 according to our data, having shed off 3 percent in the day.
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