The president of the country El Salvador just bought 21 Bitcoin (December 21, 2021)

The country of 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. He then posted a screenshot of the transactions, totaling just over $1 million, and said: "got the receipt."

Bukele tweeted about it here: https://twitter.com/nayibbukele/status/1473489844521385985

Forty year old Bukele, who has 3 million Twitter followers and refers to himself as the "CEO of El Salvador," has capitalized on the meme energy in the cryptocurrency world in the past. After buying 150 Bitcoins in September, he tweeted "we just bought the dip," a reference to a popular phrase among retail investors.

So why is 21 an important number? Because there will never be more than 21 million Bitcoins. When the pseudonymous inventor of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto, created the virtual currency in 2008, he decided on a maximum of 21 million Bitcoin. One of the reasons was to ensure a currency without inflation. Since Bitcoin was originally intended for transactional use, just like cash, too much Bitcoin can cause inflation.

One way to control this financial mechanism was to release Bitcoins gradually, without overwhelming the market by simultaneously releasing all 21 million Bitcoins. To achieve this, a fixed number of Bitcoins are released every ten minutes on average. This fixed number gradually decreases until the limit of 21 million Bitcoin is eventually reached. The last Bitcoin is expected to be mined in 2140.

Before the purchase, the Central American nation of El Salvador 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, funded by the issuance of $1 billion worth of tokenized bonds. El Salvador in September became the first country to use Bitcoin as legal tender. The president also plans to create a volcano powered Bitcoin City, where residents won’t have to pay taxes.

Sources: https://www.coindesk.com/business/2021/12/22/el-salvador-buys-21-bitcoins-on-21st-day-of-21st-year-of-21st-century/ https://nieuws.btcdirect.eu/21bitcoin-el-salvador/ https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/el-salvador-president-nayib-bukele-bitcoin-purchase-channels-meme-energy-2021-12