El Salvador did not spend public money on Bitcoin added to its holdings after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) completed the first review of its financing program in June 2025. The additional Bitcoin came from private donations, the lender said Thursday.
The IMF said Salvadoran authorities provided documentation establishing how the Bitcoin was obtained. Based on those records, the lender said the additions were not purchases financed with government resources and that it does not expect further accumulation beyond the documented donations.
The finding clarifies the source of an increase in El Salvador’s reported Bitcoin holdings that had raised questions about the country’s compliance with commitments made under its $1.4 billion IMF program.
Bitcoin Accumulation Had Tested IMF Commitments
El Salvador agreed in December 2024 to reduce public-sector participation in Bitcoin as part of the IMF arrangement. The terms made Bitcoin acceptance optional for the private sector, required tax payments in U.S. dollars, and called for the government to withdraw from its involvement in the Chivo wallet.
The restrictions were further defined in March 2025, when IMF documents prohibited voluntary Bitcoin accumulation by the public sector. At the time, President Nayib Bukele responded that purchases would not end and said the country intended to continue adding at least one BTC a day.
The Bitcoin Office subsequently continued posting about additions to the country’s holdings. By July 2025, however, the IMF said that El Salvador had made no new Bitcoin purchases since the December agreement and that increases in the reported balance resulted from Bitcoin being consolidated across government wallets.
Questions about whether El Salvador was meeting its commitments resurfaced in November 2025, when the country reported acquiring 1,090 BTC worth $100 million. At the time, an IMF representative said the Fund would review the country’s adherence to the program in due course rather than comment repeatedly on individual announcements.
The IMF’s latest explanation now attributes the post-review additions covered by its assessment to private donations rather than government-funded purchases.
Chivo Control Shifts as Bitcoin Holdings Reach 7,764 BTC
El Salvador has also reduced the government’s role in Chivo as part of its commitments under the IMF program. According to the lender, a private operator now has majority ownership and operational control of the wallet, with the government holding a minority stake and remaining responsible for custody.
El Salvador currently holds about 7,764 Bitcoin, according to the National Bitcoin Office’s official reserve tracker. At CoinGecko’s current Bitcoin price of $80,900, the holdings are valued at roughly $628 million.
The reserve remains above the level recorded before the IMF agreement. However, the lender’s latest assessment distinguishes the documented post-review increase from public-sector Bitcoin purchases, saying those additions came from private donations.
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