El Salvador’s bitcoin holdings value slashed in half by crypto sell-off

El Salvador’s bet on bitcoin was slashed on Tuesday by half as the more than $100 million in the country’s publicly disclosed purchases dropped more than 50% in value.

The 10 purchases announced by President Nayib Bukele via Twitter have a market value of just over $51 million, with the biggest single trade – 420 coins at more than $59,000 per coin – down almost 63%.

Bukele has said on Twitter at least four times that El Salvador has bought a “dip”, a term used by traders to mean they took advantage of a price dislocation that resets for a quick gain.

One of the “dips” Bukele said El Salvador bought was 420 coins for more than $59,000 each in late October, a total of almost $25 million that is now worth $9.5 million.