Bitcoin News Today: El Salvador Halts Bitcoin Purchases Post IMF Loan Agreement

El Salvador has not purchased any Bitcoin since signing a loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in December 2024. This revelation contradicts the regular claims made by El Salvador’s Bitcoin Office, which has been asserting that the country is buying one Bitcoin per day. The IMF report highlights that the Chivo Bitcoin wallet, used by El Salvador, does not adjust its Bitcoin reserves to reflect changes in clients’ deposits. This discrepancy has led to the appearance that the public sector is accumulating Bitcoin, when in reality, it is not.

The IMF report includes a letter of intent signed by El Salvador’s central bank president, Douglas Pablo Rodríguez Fuentes, and minister of finance, Jerson Rogelio Posada Molina. The letter confirms that the public sector’s Bitcoin holdings have remained unchanged since the loan agreement was signed. It also states that steps are being taken to mitigate fiscal risks by reducing the public sector’s role in the Chivo wallet and reframing the Bitcoin project.

In December 2024, El Salvador signed a $1.4 billion loan deal with the IMF, which included an agreement to scale back its involvement in Bitcoin. In January 2025, the country’s legislature revised its Bitcoin laws, making the acceptance of Bitcoin as legal tender voluntary and agreeing to stop accumulating Bitcoin using taxpayer money. Despite these changes, El Salvador’s Bitcoin Office continued to claim that the government was steadily accumulating Bitcoin, which contradicted the terms of the IMF loan agreement.

The IMF sent a notice to El Salvador in March, asking the country to stop accumulating Bitcoin under the terms of the loan agreement. In response, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele defiantly stated that the country would continue to accumulate Bitcoin daily. Bukele’s stance has been a point of contention, given El Salvador’s position as one of the leading countries to embrace a national strategic Bitcoin reserve.

The IMF report has sent shockwaves through the Bitcoin community, as El Salvador’s actions and statements have been closely watched. The country’s outspoken stance on Bitcoin and its strategic reserve has made it a focal point for discussions on the role of digital currencies in national economies. The revelation that El Salvador has not been purchasing Bitcoin since the loan agreement was signed underscores the complexities and challenges involved in integrating digital currencies into national financial systems.