El Salvador Does Not Hold Any BTC on FTX, Said Changpeng Zhao

The President of El Salvador – Nayib Bukele – reportedly dismissed the arising rumors that his country holds its bitcoin stash on the battered cryptocurrency exchange FTX. The information was revealed by Binance’s CEO – Changpeng Zhao – who said he discussed the matter with the political leader.

The Central American nation became the first to make bitcoin legal tender inside its borders. It has purchased over 2,381 coins on a macroeconomic level which equals over $41 million (at current prices).

The entire cryptocurrency industry has been under heavy fire following the FTX meltdown and the crash of its native token – FTT.
Numerous companies, including CoinShares and Galaxy Digital, said they have significant exposure to the distressed entity. Some individuals even hinted that El Salvador holds its entire bitcoin possessions on FTX.
CZ – Founder and CEO of Binance – took to Twitter to reject the rumors. He disclosed having a conversation with El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, who assured that the country has “never had any business” with SBF’s trading venue.

Man, the amount of misinformation is insane.

I exchanged messages with President Nayib a few moments ago. He said “we don’t have any Bitcoin in FTX and we never had any business with them. Thank God!” https://t.co/CrM5wd24Ha

— CZ 🔶 Binance (@cz_binance) November 10, 2022

The CEO of Galaxy Digital – Mike Novogratz – was one of the people who shared the rumors initially but later apologized for it. He thanked Zhao for clarifying the situation and apologized for believing the “fake news” before they were officially confirmed.
El Salvador made the headlines in September 2021 by declaring bitcoin an official payment method on its soil. The domestic government spent hundreds of millions of dollars to accumulate 2,381 BTC over the past several months. Due to the coin’s price depreciation, though, the country sits on over $65 million of unrealized loss.