El Salvador's central bank buys $50 million of gold as government keeps adding bitcoin

Policy Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email El Salvador's central bank buys $50 million of gold as government keeps adding bitcoin The bitcoin-friendly nation's central bank now holds over $360 million of the yellow metal, while the government, led by President Nayib Bukele, has bitcoin holdings worth $635 million. By Krisztian Sandor | Edited by Stephen Alpher Jan 29, 2026, 10:19 p.m. Make us preferred on Google What to know : El Salvador's central bank added $50 million of gold to its reserves on Thursday. The country also made its usual purchase of 1 bitcoin, bringing the government’s holdings to 7,547 coins, worth $635 million. The central bank of El Salvador, the tiny bitcoin-friendly nation in Central America, added $50 million worth of gold to its reserves, the institution said Thursday in an X post . The purchase — 9,298 troy ounces — brings the country's total gold holdings to 67,403 ounces, valued at roughly $360 million at current prices STORY CONTINUES BELOW Don't miss another story. Subscribe to the State of Crypto Newsletter today . See all newsletters Sign me up By signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk products and you agree to our terms & conditions and privacy policy . President Nayib Bukele reposted the announcement, writing , "We just bought the other dip." Whether Bukele was applauding the gold buy or cheekily announcing the government's own bitcoin buy wasn't clear. Arkham data did show the country adding one bitcoin to its holdings on Thursday, in line with Bukele's ongoing pledge for his government to buy one bitcoin per day. The country's stack, according to Arkham, now stands at 7,547 bitcoin worth $635 million at bitcoin's currently depressed price just above $84,000. El Salvador Gold More For You Pudgy Penguins: A New Blueprint for Tokenized Culture By CoinDesk Research Dec 30, 2025 Commissioned by Pudgy Penguins Pudgy Penguins is building a multi-vertical consumer IP platform — combining phygital products, games, NFTs and PENGU to monetize culture at scale. What to know : Pudgy Penguins is emerging as one of the strongest NFT-native brands of this cycle, shifting from speculative “digital luxury goods” into a multi-vertical consumer IP platform. Its strategy is to acquire users through mainstream channels first; toys, retail partnerships and viral media, then onboard them into Web3 through games, NFTs and the PENGU token. The ecosystem now spans phygital products (> $13M retail sales and >1M units sold), games and experiences (Pudgy Party surpassed 500k downloads in two weeks), and a widely distributed token (airdropped to 6M+ wallets). While the market is currently pricing Pudgy at a premium relative to traditional IP peers, sustained success depends on execution across retail expansion, gaming adoption and deeper token utility. View Full Report More For You U.S. SEC, CFTC chiefs push united front on paving the way for crypto By Jesse Hamilton | Edited by Nikhilesh De 3 hours ago With Commodity Futures Trading Commission head Mike Selig new in the role, the agencies held a "harmonization" event to show they're side-by-side. What to know : New CFTC Chairman Mike Selig revealed an ambitious crypto agenda as he and SEC Chairman Paul Atkins held a "harmonization" event to demonstrate a united effort on digital assets. Selig said he'd pursue a number of CFTC policies, including on crypto definitions, tokenized collateral and prediction markets. Read full story Latest Crypto News Circle’s biggest bear just threw in the towel, but warns the stock is still a crypto roller coaster 5 minutes ago Bitcoin holds $84,000 — for now — but analysts warn of drop to $70,000 if support fails 17 minutes ago Tokenization firm Securitize reports 841% revenue growth as it prepares to go public 2 hours ago U.S. SEC, CFTC chiefs push united front on paving the way for crypto 3 hours ago Crypto stocks sink as spot volume plunges and bitcoin tumbles below $84,000 3 hours ago Aero DEX aims to fix liquidity fragmentation and dethrone the incumbents 4 hours ago Top Stories Bitcoin’s major safety net just snapped. Why a drop below $85,000 might risk more selloff 5 hours ago Crypto bill clears U.S. Senate milestone despite Democrat opposition 5 hours ago Here are key levels to watch as bitcoin plunges to $84,000 5 hours ago Ethereum OGs revive the DAO with $220 million security fund, Unchained reports 5 hours ago Robinhood is investing in crypto trading platform Talos at $1.5 billion valuation 8 hours ago Bitcoin tumbles to 2026 low of $85,200 as gold reverses big gains, Microsoft leads Nasdaq lower 6 hours ago