A recent report from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has challenged El Salvador's public narrative regarding its national Bitcoin holdings, indicating that the country has not increased its BTC reserves since securing a $1.4 billion loan agreement with the IMF in December 2024.
According to the IMF, an examination of the government's Chivo wallet revealed no new Bitcoin purchases. The reported discrepancies in the wallet's reserves are attributed to how the platform accounts for user deposits, rather than any actual acquisitions by the public sector. This finding directly contrasts the continued claims from El Salvador’s Bitcoin Office that the government is "buying BTC daily."
The IMF's conclusions were further substantiated by a formal letter from El Salvador’s central bank and finance ministry. In this correspondence, the Salvadoran authorities pledged to reduce government involvement in the Bitcoin project as part of their fiscal commitments under the loan agreement. This includes a commitment to scale back the government's role in the Chivo wallet and to ensure that Bitcoin adoption remains voluntary, a policy already reflected in legislative changes passed in January of this year.
This disclosure comes amidst heightened tensions between El Salvador and the IMF. Earlier this year, President Nayib Bukele publicly rejected the IMF's demands to cease Bitcoin purchases, defiantly asserting in a March post that the country would continue accumulating BTC regardless of international pressure.
The IMF’s latest report casts significant doubt on El Salvador’s recent claims of Bitcoin accumulation and raises new questions about the country's transparency and compliance with the terms of its loan arrangement.
July 2025, Cryptoniteuae