Share this article

El Salvador Buys 21 Bitcoins on 21st Day of Last Month of 21st Year of 21st Century

In announcing the purchase on Twitter, President Nayib Bukele also noted the country’s land area is 21,000 square kilometers.

Updated May 11, 2023, 5:52 p.m. Published Dec 22, 2021, 9:10 a.m.
El Salvador (Esaú González, Unsplash)
El Salvador (Esaú González, Unsplash)

El Salvador bought another 21 bitcoins to mark the 21st day of the last month of the 21st year of the 21st century, President Nayib Bukele said in a series of tweets on Tuesday night.

  • Bukele said he made the purchase at 21:21:21, and pointed out that El Salvador’s land area is 21,000 square kilometers. The president posted a screenshot of the transactions, totaling just over $1 million, saying, “got the receipt.”
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
  • Before the purchase, the Central American nation held 1,120 bitcoins in its treasury, Reuters reported on Oct. 27, which would bring its total now to 1,141 bitcoins. El Salvador plans to buy another $500 million worth of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency by market value, funded by the issuance of $1 billion worth of tokenized bonds.
  • El Salvador in September became the only country to use bitcoin as legal tender. The president also plans to create a “Bitcoin City,” where residents won’t have to pay taxes.

Read more: Behind the Scenes of El Salvador’s Bitcoin Bond With the Man Who Designed It

CORRECTION (Dec. 22 11:12 UTC): Clarifies date in headline and first paragraph.

More For You

Protocol Research: GoPlus Security

GP Basic Image

What to know:

  • As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
  • GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
  • Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.

More For You

Turkey's Paribu Buys CoinMENA in $240M Deal, Expanding Into High-Growth Crypto Markets

Yasin Oral, Founder and CEO of Paribu (center) and Dina Sam’an (left) and Talal Tabbaa (right), Co-Founders of CoinMENA (Paribu, modified by CoinDesk)

With the acquisition, Paribu gains regulatory foothold in Bahrain and Dubai and access to the region's fast-growing crypto user base.

What to know:

  • Paribu acquires Bahrain- and Dubai-based CoinMENA for up to $240 million.
  • Deal marks Turkey’s biggest fintech acquisition and first international crypto M&A, the firm said.
  • The move taps into the MENA region’s fast-growing crypto user base and supportive regulatory hubs.