El Salvador received Bitcoin donations after President Nayib Bukele shared the Central American country’s digital wallet address with the public.

In a March 14 post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Bukele revealed that the country transferred “a big chunk of our Bitcoin to a cold wallet and stored that cold wallet in a physical vault within our national territory.”

The on-chain address, described by Bukele as the country’s “first piggy bank,” showed that the government holds ‎5,689 BTC, equivalent to $383 million as of press time, according to BitInfoCharts data.

El Salvador’s BTC bag

This disclosure reveals a substantially larger Bitcoin treasury for El Salvador than previously estimated. Public trackers like Nayibtracker and Bitcoin Treasuries had previously placed the nation’s holdings at 2864 BTC, estimated at $193 million.

Nonetheless, the sizable treasury aligns with recent revelations by Bukele, who highlighted multiple revenue streams beyond mere acquisition. These include BTC earnings from citizenship sales, currency exchanges for local businesses, mining activities, and other undisclosed government services.

Moreover, President Bukele has consistently reiterated El Salvador’s commitment to holding onto its Bitcoin reserves, signaling a steadfast dedication to its crypto strategy for the long term.

Donations and praises

Following Bukele’s revelation, crypto enthusiasts praised the country’s move and swiftly began sending small amounts of BTC and rare Ordinals to the wallet.

Paolo Ardoino, Tether CEO, said no other country has a bright trajectory like El Salvador while highlighting the country’s security, growth, economy, and talent.

Femi Longe, a crypto stakeholder from Nigeria, said he looks “forward to a future where African countries keep a portion of their national reserves in Bitcoin instead of the US Dollars.”

According to him:

“This would weaken the hold the guardians of the current global economy & monetary system have on our progress as a continent.”

Meanwhile, BitInfoCharts shows that the Central American country’s BTC wallet received more than $1000 worth of BTC donations in 30 transactions.

In addition, Ordiscan reveals that the wallet boasts 67 Ordinal inscriptions, comprising BRC-20 tokens, textual inscriptions, images, and others.