El Salvador's president hits back on Twitter after rating agency Moody's issues warning over its bitcoin buying

• El Salvador President Nayib Bukele hit back on Twitter Sunday against rating agency Moody's.
• The 40-year-old president tweeted: "BREAKING: EL SALVADOR DGAF."
• His tweet comes after the rating agency told Bloomberg that El Salvador's bitcoin holdings increase its risk of default.

El Salvador President Nayib Bukele hit back on Twitter on Sunday in response to a warning from rating agency Moody's over the Central American country's bitcoin investments.

The 40-year-old president tweeted: "BREAKING: EL SALVADOR DGAF." The letters are an acronym for "don't give a fuck".

Bukele was responding to a tweet on Sunday regarding the warning Moody's issued last week about the risks its bitcoin trading poses to its sovereign credit rating.

The rating agency told Bloomberg on January 13 that El Salvador's bitcoin holdings "certainly add to the risk portfolio," especially for "a government that has been struggling with liquidity pressures in the past."

El Salvador has about 1,391 bitcoins in its coffers, according to a Bloomberg analysis, and "if it gets much higher, then that represents an even greater risk to repayment capacity and the fiscal profile of the issuer," Moody's said.

In July last year, Moody's downgraded the country's credit rating to CAA1, which reflects a very high risk of default on its debts. The rating agency cited a "challenging redemption schedule" and "a deterioration in the quality of policymaking," as its reasoning for the downgrade.

El Salvador's aggressive bitcoin buying spree, particularly in moments when the coin's price has dipped, began in September 2021 when the Central American nation adopted the cryptocurrency as legal tender, making it the first country in the world to elevate bitcoin to that status.

This landmark move propelled Bukele to fame, especially among the crypto crowd. Supporters of his move to push El Salvador to the bleeding edge of crypto include Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood, who told Time Magazine Sunday that Bukele's bitcoin push has given citizens financial opportunities they didn't have before.

Global financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and Wall Street banks such as JPMorgan, however, were less optimistic.

Recent drops in bitcoin have cost El Salvador around $10 million, Bloomberg estimates. Bitcoin was trading at $41,536 as of Tuesday afternoon in New York, approximately 40% lower than its record high of $69,000 last November.