How Did El Salvador Keep Adding Bitcoin?
El Salvador has not used public funds to accumulate bitcoin since June 2025, according to the International Monetary Fund, which said documentation provided by Salvadoran authorities showed that subsequent increases in the country’s holdings came from private donations.
The disclosure helps explain an apparent conflict between El Salvador’s rising bitcoin balance and commitments made under its IMF-supported economic program. The fund said after the first review of the program that it would work with authorities to keep public-sector bitcoin holdings unchanged.
El Salvador’s official bitcoin tracker nevertheless continued to rise. The balance reached 7,764.37 BTC after increasing by more than 1,000 BTC in November and continuing to receive one BTC per day.
The government had described a 1,090 BTC addition in November as a purchase worth about $100 million at the time. Earlier, it added 8 BTC shortly after the IMF said public-sector holdings were expected to remain unchanged, taking the reported balance to 6,190.18 BTC.
The IMF’s latest assessment changes the funding interpretation of those increases. It said accumulation since June 2025 reflected documented private donations rather than government spending and added that no further accumulation beyond those documented donations is expected.
Why Does The Funding Source Matter For The IMF Deal?
The distinction between public purchases and privately donated bitcoin is important because El Salvador’s cryptocurrency policy has been one of the most closely watched conditions attached to its IMF program.
The country and IMF staff have now reached a staff-level agreement covering the combined second and third reviews of El Salvador’s 40-month Extended Fund Facility. Subject to approval by the IMF Executive Board and completion of agreed prior actions, the reviews would release about $140 million in additional financing.
Public-sector bitcoin purchases could have raised questions over whether El Salvador was complying with conditions designed to limit the government’s financial exposure to cryptocurrency. Private donations allow the reported balance to increase without necessarily creating the same fiscal cost, although they still leave governance, custody and disclosure questions for authorities to address.
The IMF did not identify the donors, disclose the value of individual contributions or provide a total amount of bitcoin received privately since June 2025. That leaves investors and creditors with less information than would normally be available for a conventional public-sector asset transaction.
Investor Takeaway
The IMF’s conclusion reduces concern that El Salvador has been using budget resources to continue buying bitcoin in breach of its program commitments. The next issue is transparency: creditors will want clearer records showing how donated bitcoin enters public custody, who controls it and how it is valued.
What Is Changing In El Salvador’s Crypto Policy?
El Salvador has already reduced the government’s direct role in parts of its cryptocurrency infrastructure. Majority ownership and operational control of the Chivo crypto wallet have been transferred to a private operator, while the government has retained a minority stake and responsibility for custody of customer assets.
The IMF said authorities are also working to improve transparency around bitcoin held across multiple wallets and to strengthen governance and risk management for public-sector crypto assets.
Those changes follow a broader retreat from the original structure adopted when El Salvador became the first country to make bitcoin legal tender in 2021. Under the IMF agreement, private-sector acceptance of bitcoin became voluntary, taxes must be paid in U.S. dollars and public-sector bitcoin accumulation was restricted.
The policy therefore now separates bitcoin’s continued presence on the government balance sheet from the government’s willingness to commit new public money to it.
What Does The IMF Agreement Mean For Bitcoin Holdings?
The latest agreement does not require El Salvador to dispose of its existing bitcoin holdings. Instead, the focus is on preventing further public-funded accumulation while improving supervision and reporting around the assets already controlled by the public sector.
That leaves President Nayib Bukele’s government with a sizable bitcoin balance while reducing the fiscal exposure created by additional purchases. Bitcoin was trading near $81,000 on Friday, up about 4.5% over the previous 24 hours, putting the value of 7,764.37 BTC at more than $600 million at prevailing market prices.
The arrangement also shows how El Salvador has adapted its bitcoin policy without fully abandoning it. The government can continue holding cryptocurrency received through documented private donations, while the IMF can maintain restrictions on the use of public resources.
For creditors, the unresolved question is whether future disclosures will provide enough detail to independently distinguish donated bitcoin from government-funded acquisitions. The IMF’s latest review provides an answer on funding since June 2025, but continued transparency will be needed if El Salvador’s official bitcoin balance keeps rising.
