publication
2026-02-03 13:21
update
2026-02-03 14:07
El Salvador, which was the first to recognize bitcoin as a legal means of payment, does not forget about the fundamentals. As reported by the Central Bank of El Salvador, it increased its gold reserves by well over a quarter of a ton, building – as it called – a “reasonable balance” in the structure of currency reserves. At the same time, the state still buys one bitcoin per day, in line with its strategy.
As announced on Thursday, January 29, by the Central Reserve Bank of El Salvador, the country's total gold reserves increased by 9,298 troy ounces to 67,403 ounces. This means that El Salvador already has 2,096 tons of gold in its reserves, and recent purchases amounted to approximately 289 kg. The bank reported that the value of the purchased gold was USD 50 million, and the total gold reserves are worth USD 360 million. Currently, after market correction, the estimated value is approximately $334 million.
El Salvador returned to gold purchases
At the end of 2025, the value of gold reserves in the Central Reserve Bank of El Salvador amounted to USD 250.31 million compared to USD 115.15 million reported at the end of 2024. The more than doubling of the value of gold reserves was caused not only by the increase in its price, which amounted to almost 65% in 2025, but also by September purchases, which were the first since 1990. At that time, the bank also spent about $50 million on the purchase, but it was enough for 13,999 ounces.
El Salvador's central bankers are open in their communications
called gold a “universal strategic asset”which is intended to protect the economy against structural changes on world markets. It said the purchase consolidates the bank's “long-term capital” and helps maintain a “reasonable balance” in the structure of foreign exchange reserves.
Poland is at the forefront of gold purchases, the world is in pursuit
El Salvador is not alone in purchasing gold. This country joins the group of countries increasing their gold reserves, led by the National Bank of Poland in the last two years. Thanks to its aggressive purchasing policy, Poland has become the leader of the region and one of the most important buyers of precious metal in the world. In the last two years alone, the National Bank of Poland increased gold reserves by over 190 tons to 550 tons at the end of 2025.
Central banks continue to buy gold, although the dynamics have changed slightly. After the record years of 2022-2024, when annual net purchases exceeded 1,000 tons, the volume in 2025 dropped to 863 tons. A total of 23 central banks in the world have decided to purchase gold in 2025and only four decided to sell the royal metal. The next wave of purchases is supported by previously dormant central banks, including: Brazil, Kazakhstan, the Czech Republic, and the South Korean bank is considering returning to purchases after 13 years.
Physical gold and digital gold
However, this what distinguishes El Salvador from other countries is the parallel accumulation of “digital gold”. This country has been consistently building bitcoin reserves for years, implementing the program to purchase 1 bitcoin per day announced in November 2022. As of February 2, 2026, the country's bitcoin reserves amount to 7,551,374 BTC, worth nearly $590 million. Over the last 7 days, Salvador will buy 7 BTC, paying between 89.4 thousand and 77.3 thousand dollars per bitcoin.
Purchases for El Salvador are made by The Bitcoin Office, i.e. the National Office for Bitcoin, as a special unit created under the auspices of President Nayib Bukele. She manages and supervises all national initiatives related to bitcoin. The office formally operates outside the state's fiscal structureswhich was introduced so that El Salvador would not violate the terms of loan agreements with the International Monetary Fund through purchases.
El Salvador is unique in the international arena when it comes to the adoption of cryptocurrencies. President Nayib Bukele announced in 2021 that he would send a bill to parliament that would make bitcoin legal tender.
The law came into force after only three months, and El Salvador became the first country in the world where the law standardized bitcoin as legal tender.
We just bought this other dip 😂 https://t.co/8CClH0GSYN
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) January 29, 2026
President Bukele himself made a somewhat ambiguous statement during Thursday's gold purchases an entry on the X platform with the following content: “We just bought the second hole”, commenting on the announcement of the Central Reserve Bank of El Salvador. Bukele was referring to the fact that both gold and bitcoin prices initiated a deeper correction last Thursday. One thing is certain – every day El Salvador has more and more bitcoins, the value of which is now almost twice as high as the gold it holds.
