El Salvador’s president and Bitcoin enthusiast, Nayib Bukele, increased his country’s plunging investment in the cryptocurrency by more than $1.5 million on Friday.

Last year, the Central American country made news when it became the first to recognize bitcoin as legal tender.

In addition to its entry into the crypto market, El Salvador has been purchasing Bitcoin often during price drops.

Despite the adverse market, the president indicated that the amount was purchased for $19,000 per BTC unit, for a total cost of more than $1.5 million.

El Salvador has paid an average of around $46,000 per BTC since September 2021, reflecting a loss of 56 percent, or nearly $60 million, according to statistics from the tracking website nayibtracker.com.

El Salvador bought today 80 #BTC at $19,000 each!#Bitcoin is the future!

Thank you for selling cheap 😉 pic.twitter.com/ZHwr0Ln1Ze

— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) July 1, 2022

Bukele is one of the few cryptocurrency industry professionals who has publicly promoted Bitcoin.

On June 29, MicroStrategy was the most recent to do so, paying $10 million for 480 BTC at an average price of $20,817.

El Salvador’s most recent Bitcoin purchase was on May 9, when it purchased 500 BTC. Bukele stated at the time on his Twitter account that the average purchase price for a $15 million deal was $30,744.

Bitcoin is currently trading below the $20,000 mark at $19,109, a 9.4 percent fall over the previous week.

As the value of bitcoin in El Salvador has continued to fall since it became legal tender, Finance Minister Alejandro Zelaya has attempted to put a positive spin on the issue, stating that the government has not suffered a loss because it has not sold any of its bitcoins.

Following the most recent buy, El Salvador currently has a total of 2,381 BTC. Over the last few months, the country has paid more than $105 million to acquire the sum. However, due to ongoing market volatility, the country is now sitting on unrealized losses of almost $60 million.

The International Monetary Fund recommended in January that El Salvador disband the $150 million trust fund it established when it made cryptocurrencies legal tender and return any unused funds to the public coffers.