El Salvador to use bitcoin gains to fund veterinary hospital

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 per cent of its value on September 9, after the Central American nation became the first worldwide to authorize the cryptocurrency as legal tender. But it has surged more than 30 per cent in the past week to its highest levels since May.

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.