El Salvador to use bitcoin gains to fund veterinary hospital, president says

FILE PHOTO: A man stand next to a sign reading "Bitcoin accepted here", outside a moto reapair shop where the cryptocurrency is accepted as a payment method, in Aguilares, El Salvador October 6, 2021. Picture taken October 6, 2021. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas/File Photo

El Salvador will invest some of the $4 million gains it has obtained from its bitcoin operations to build a veterinary hospital, President Nayib Bukele said on Saturday.

Bitcoin lost almost 10% of its value on Sept. 9, after the Central American nation became the first worldwide to authorize the cryptocurrency as legal tender But it has surged more than 30% in the past week to its highest levels since May.

FILE PHOTO: A woman vends by a sign that reads, "Bitcoin accepted here", outside a store where the cryptocurrency is accepted as a payment method in San Salvador, El Salvador September 24, 2021. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas/File Photo

The Bitcoin Trust, which Congress authorized in August, with a balance of $150 million, now has a "surplus" of $4 million, Bukele said.

"So we decided to invest a part of that money in this: a veterinary hospital for our furry friends," Bukele wrote on Twitter.

Bukele said the veterinary hospital would services for basic and emergency care as well as rehabilitation.

FILE PHOTO: A sign reads, "Bitcoin accepted here", outside a store where the cryptocurrency is accepted as a payment method in San Salvador, El Salvador September 24, 2021. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas/File Photo

(Reporting by Nelson Renteria; Writing by Stefanie Eschenbacher; Editing by William Mallard)