Ever since El Salvador legalized Bitcoin (BTC<\/a>) as mainstream tender, President Nayib Bukele<\/a> used Twitter on numerous occasions to announce the country\u2019s BTC acquisitions. However, ALAC El Salvador \u2014 a non-governmental anti-corruption bureau \u2014 was recently denied information from a state development bank, BANDESAL, regarding El Salvador\u2019s Bitcoin purchases and sales.<\/p>\n As a development bank for El Salvador, BANDESAL created a $150 million trust fund to guarantee the convertibility to dollars for citizens and merchants. The request for disclosure of El Salvador\u2019s Bitcoin acquisition was denied on the grounds of confidentiality. <\/p>\n ALAC El Salvador refuted the denial by highlighting that the BTC purchases were made using public funds. Their official statement translated to:<\/p>\n \u201cThe confidentiality limits the possibility for citizens to access and receive information on the operations carried out with public funds by BANDESAL.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n In its refusal statement<\/a>, BANDESAL said that no information related to the Bitcoin Trust (FIDEBITCOIN) could be shared by the trustee or its board of directors to safeguard national interests.<\/p>\n Publicly available information hints that El Salvador purchased 2,301 BTC to date<\/a>, which has fallen in value over the past year from $103.9 million to roughly $45 million. <\/p>\n Related: <\/em><\/strong>Pro-crypto city of Lugano and El Salvador sign economic agreement based on adoption<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Adding on to the country\u2019s piling pressure to suffice its year-long Bitcoin purchases, Spain took over El Salvador\u2019s spot to become the third-largest crypto ATM<\/a> hub in the world.<\/p>\n El Salvador attained the third spot after installing 205 ATMs to support the country\u2019s thriving Bitcoin economy, amounting to a network of 212 crypto ATMs. However, Spain recently recorded 215 active ATMs, representing 14.65% of European installations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![](\"https:\/\/s3.cointelegraph.com\/uploads\/2022-11\/3c0dbf5b-612f-48ea-92d2-2f01eff1003a.jpeg\")