Bukele steps up El Salvador's bet on sliding bitcoin; buys another 150 coins

SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) - El Salvador President Nayib Bukele said the Central American country had acquired an additional 150 bitcoins after the digital currency's value slumped again, enlarging his bet on the cryptocurrency despite criticism.

Bitcoin, the world's biggest and best-known cryptocurrency, is down about 30% from the year's high of $69,000 on Nov. 10. Bukele said last week that El Salvador had acquired 100 additional coins to take advantage of the currency weakening.

Late on Friday, Bukele announced the government had stepped into the market again.

"El Salvador just bought the dip! 150 coins at an average USD price of ~$48,670," Bukele wrote on Twitter.

Until Nov. 26, El Salvador had 1,220 bitcoins.

In September El Salvador became the world's first nation to adopt bitcoin as legal tender, a move that generated global media attention but also attracted criticism from the opposition and foreign financial institutions.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Monday that El Salvador should not use bitcoin as legal tender, considering risks related to the cryptocurrency.

(Reporting by Nelson Renteria; Writing by Drazen Jorgic; Editing by Daniel Wallis)