El Salvador’s Bitcoin Profits Soar Amid All-Time High Hopes | US Crypto News

Welcome to the US Crypto News Morning Briefing—your essential rundown of the most important developments in crypto for the day ahead.

Grab a coffee as we examine what the Bitcoin price action means for El Salvador, a country whose administration has earned international praise for its crypto adoption. Nevertheless, the country also faces opposition from the IMF, which has asked it to revise its Bitcoin policies.

Crypto News of the Day: El Salvador’s Bitcoin Holdings Record $357 Million in Gains, Nayib Bukele Reveals

El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, revealed the country’s unrealized profits, which reached $357.2 million when the Bitcoin price hit an intra-day high of $107,108.

pic.twitter.com/05izbAR202

— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) May 19, 2025

Notably, Bitcoin has since retracted from the intraday high and was trading for $102,962 as of this writing.

El Salvador started accumulating Bitcoin in 2021 before adopting BTC as a legal tender. A recent US Crypto News publication indicated that BTC pioneer Max Keiser was pivotal in El Salvador’s adoption of Bitcoin.

BeInCrypto reported the country’s most recent purchase. On April 26, the country’s National Bitcoin Office reported that El Salvador had purchased 8 BTC during that week and 31 BTC over the past month.

Meanwhile, the IMF remains a challenge amid El Salvador’s accumulation spree, calling for reforms to the nation’s Bitcoin Law. This comes amid the IMF’s loan agreement with El Salvador. 

In December 2023, the Salvadoran government committed to reducing Bitcoin’s mandatory use and its involvement in Bitcoin-related infrastructure.

In an April 26 press briefing, Rodrigo Valdes, Director of the IMF’s Western Hemisphere Department, stated that El Salvador is complying with the agreed non-BTC accumulation policy.

“In terms of El Salvador, let me say that I can confirm that they continue to comply with their commitment of non-accumulation of bitcoin by the overall fiscal sector, which is the performance criteria that we have,” Valdes stated.

Nevertheless, despite constraints imposed by the IMF, the country continues to accumulate Bitcoin. The country’s Bitcoin interests align with those of the US amid speculation of deepening diplomatic and Bitcoin-related cooperation.

Beyond the US, Ireland is also watching El Salvador’s Bitcoin formula. In a recent US Crypto News publication, BeInCrypto reported plans to export El Salvador’s guidelines to Ireland, with UFC fighter Conor McGregor calling on Bukele and Max Keiser for deliberations.

“Conor McGregor might be coming to El Salvador,” Salvadoran pride shared on X.

Elsewhere, Max Keiser says the US can never equal El Salvador’s Bitcoin Per Capita ratio. He notes that El Salvador will always have a greater Bitcoin per capita (BPC) than the US, owing to its first-mover advantage.

“For the US to equal El Salvador’s Bitcoin Per Capita ratio, they’ll need approximately 2.37 million Bitcoin. This is simply an impossibility that will never happen,” Keiser observed.

MicroStrategy Acquires 7,390 BTC But Faces Class Action Lawsuit For Alleged Misleading Bitcoin Strategy Statements

Meanwhile, Michael Saylor’s Strategy continues on its Saylorization trend, acquiring 7,390 BTC worth $764.85 million. It made this purchase at an average price of $103,498 per Bitcoin, achieving a BTC Yield of 16.3% year-to-date (YTD) in 2025.

“Strategy currently holds 576,230 BTC ($59.33 billion), with an average buying price of $69,726 and an unrealized profit of $19.15 billion,” Lookonchain reported.

Recently, Max Keiser said corporations must Saylorize to survive. However, as Strategy advances this resolve, it faces a class action lawsuit for allegedly misleading Bitcoin strategy statements. The lawsuit alleges that Strategy made misleading statements and concealed information regarding its BTC-focused investment strategy.

The lawsuit alleges executives hid risks, leading to a $5.9 billion unrealized loss in the first quarter (Q1) of 2025 after new accounting rules.

$MSTR – MICROSTRATEGY INC – CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT FILED AGAINST MICROSTRATEGY AND EXECUTIVES – SEC FILINGMICROSTRATEGY INC – LAWSUIT ALLEGES MISLEADING STATEMENTS ON BITCOIN STRATEGY – SEC FILING

— *Walter Bloomberg (@DeItaone) May 19, 2025

The plaintiffs say MicroStrategy minimized Bitcoin’s price swings and did not properly explain how the new fair-value rules could affect them. The company reportedly plans to contest these claims.

Recent reports also indicate that Strategy’s Bitcoin premium is under pressure following the rise of Bitcoin ETFs (exchange-traded funds).

Chart of the Day

El Salvador Bitcoin portfolio. Source: bitcoin.gob.sv/es/

Byte-Sized Alpha

Here’s a summary of more US crypto news to follow today:

• Ethereum led crypto inflows with $205 million last week, fueled by the Pectra upgrade and new co-executive director Tomasz Stańczak’s appointment.
• Binance Alpha listed Xterio (XTER) with an airdrop, but the token price dropped 15.8% to $0.28 despite the listing event.
• Solana earned $1.2 billion in Q1 2025 app revenue, up 20% year over year, with January contributing nearly 60% of the total gains.
• Ripple partners with Dubai’s Zand Bank and Mamo to implement 24/7 blockchain-powered cross-border payment solutions.
• Metaplanet acquired 1,004 BTC worth $104.3 million, pushing its total holdings to 7,800 BTC. Its BTC investment strategy drove a 12.6% stock surge to 702 yen, with shares up 101.7% in the past month.
• Bitcoin ETFs logged $603.74 million in weekly inflows, the lowest in a month, amid market consolidation and cautious investor sentiment.
• Pi Network’s Pi Coin lacks a Binance listing despite 86% community support, raising doubts about its credibility and compliance. Promised support from the $100 million Ventures Fund is uncertain, while 100 live dApps remain unfulfilled, frustrating the community.
• Chaikin Money Flow and Super Trend indicators show strong buying pressure and dynamic support at $1.19 for VIRTUAL, signaling an uptrend.

Crypto Equities Pre-Market Overview

Company	At the Close of May 16	Pre-Market Overview
Strategy (MSTR)	$399.80	$394.50 (-1.33%)
Coinbase Global (COIN)	$266.46	$259.99 (-2.43%)
Galaxy Digital Holdings (GLXY.TO)	$31.49	$32.44 (+3.01%)
MARA Holdings (MARA)	$16.21	$15.81 (-2.47%)
Riot Platforms (RIOT)	$9.15	$8.94 (-2.30%)
Core Scientific (CORZ)	$10.78	$10.51 (-2.51%)

Crypto equities market open race:  Google Finance