President Nayib Bucke of El Salvador made a headline by announcing the existence of a piggy bank secret chamber, which stores over 5,689 Bitcoins. Bukele disclosed that 4,560 of the bitcoins were received from the cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex, a detail that has raised concern given El Salvador’s claim partnership with Bitso as its bitcoin custodian.
Mario Gomez, a vocal critic of Bukele’s Bitcoin plans, alleged that the president’s Bitcoin purchase announcements do not align with transfers made to the country’s crypto wallet. He drew parallels to Tether’s alleged practices of moving borrowed funds to show holdings.
Gomez had previously linked a Chivo wallet to a Twitter hack involving a Bitcoin giveaway scam, leading to his controversial arrest by Bukele in 2021. While Bukele claims the vault represents honest work, the revelation has lighted debates around the transparency of El Salvador’s bitcoin acquisitions and the country’s overall crypto strategy.
