El Salvador Hasn’t Bought Bitcoin Since Signing Loan Deal: IMF

Highlights:

• El Salvador kept its Bitcoin holdings unchanged as required by the IMF loan agreement.
• The government plans to leave Chivo Wallet to lower the risks tied to Bitcoin use.
• Bukele refuses to halt daily Bitcoin buying, pushing back against IMF pressure.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) published a report on Tuesday stating that El Salvador has not made any new Bitcoin purchases since entering a loan agreement last December. According to the report, El Salvador’s Chivo Bitcoin wallet does not update its reserves to match user Bitcoin deposits. As the government does not sell its BTC holdings, this creates small inconsistencies.

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Government Steps Back from Chivo Wallet

The report explained that El Salvador’s Chivo wallet doesn’t update its Bitcoin reserves based on user deposits. Since the wallet also doesn’t sell any of its Bitcoin, this creates small mismatches that give the false impression that the public sector is adding more BTC.

El Salvador’s central bank chief, Douglas Pablo Rodríguez Fuentes, and finance minister, Jerson Rogelio Posada Molina, signed a letter of intent that was included in the IMF report. This letter confirmed several key details regarding the country’s current Bitcoin position. They stated that the amount of Bitcoin held by the public sector has stayed the same, as promised under the loan program. They also said the government is now working to lower financial risks by stepping back from the Chivo wallet and adjusting the overall Bitcoin project.

On November 16, 2022, President Nayib Bukele revealed that El Salvador would start purchasing 1 Bitcoin daily. Around that period, the government also launched a National Bitcoin Office to oversee its crypto efforts. These moves, along with making Bitcoin legal, showed the government’s strong support for crypto. Bukele’s pro-Bitcoin and anti-establishment views were popular and helped him win re-election last February.

Even with its bold Bitcoin push, El Salvador’s economy faced pressure from rising debt and inflation. To deal with the growing crisis, the government reached out to the International Monetary Fund, which agreed to a $1.4 billion Extended Fund Facility in February 2025. The IMF clearly said El Salvador must reduce public Bitcoin use, including buying and using BTC. But the government disagreed in public and said it would keep buying Bitcoin. 

Bukele Defies IMF, Vows to Keep Buying Bitcoin Daily

Tensions grew in March when the IMF sent a fresh notice to El Salvador and urged the government to stop adding more Bitcoin as part of the loan agreement terms. Bukele responded firmly, telling the IMF that the country would continue its daily Bitcoin purchases without pause.

On March 4, Bukele shared a message on X and said that the country’s daily Bitcoin buying would not end. He suggested that if they had continued through global criticism and a wave of abandonment from early supporters, there was no reason to stop now or in the future.

“This all stops in April.” “This all stops in June.” “This all stops in December.”

No, it’s not stopping.

If it didn’t stop when the world ostracized us and most “bitcoiners” abandoned us, it won’t stop now, and it won’t stop in the future.

Proof of work > proof of whining https://t.co/9pC0PoY3YQ

— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) March 4, 2025

The IMF’s latest report raised concerns across the Bitcoin space. Many saw El Salvador as a key example of national Bitcoin adoption and viewed Bukele as a strong supporter of building a reserve in the limited-supply asset.

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