El Salvador seems to be buying bitcoin (BTC) even after signing a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that seemed to require it to scale back.
Despite a $1.4 billion loan agreement signed in late 2024 with the IMF which included terms to limit El Salvador’s involvement with Bitcoin, the government has not stopped its bitcoin strategy.
Instead, President Nayib Bukele’s administration is more committed than ever to Bitcoin.
“There’s a commitment of President Bukele to keep accumulating assets,” said Economy Minister María Luisa Hayem in multiple public statements including during the Web Summit in Rio de Janeiro. “Bitcoin is still an important project,” she added.
El Salvador made history in 2021 by becoming the first country in the world to adopt bitcoin as legal tender. While this move was met with skepticism from international financial institutions, Bukele’s administration has continued to make bitcoin a central part of its national economic plan.
Reports from blockchain analytics platforms and the country’s own Bitcoin Office confirm that El Salvador is following a “one bitcoin per day” purchase plan. As of now, the country holds over 6,165 BTC worth more than $600 million at current prices.
Maria Luisa Hayem reiterated this plan, saying that bitcoin accumulation is not just a government initiative but also a private sector one. “There is an asset accumulation that we’re seeing from the government perspective, [and] from the private sector perspective,” she said.
The IMF has acknowledged concerns about El Salvador’s growing bitcoin reserves.
Related: IMF Criticizes El Salvador’s Bitcoin Strategy, Urges Reconsideration
As part of the $1.4 billion loan package, the IMF included terms to limit the country’s exposure to bitcoin including making its acceptance by merchants optional, restricting public sector bitcoin involvements, and ending further bitcoin accumulation using public funds.
But the language of the agreement left room for interpretation.
When asked recently how El Salvador could continue to accumulate bitcoin despite the IMF’s terms, Rodrigo Valdes, the IMF’s Western Hemisphere Director, said the restrictions apply only to the fiscal sector.
“For El Salvador I can say that yes they are complying with the non-accumulation of bitcoin by the overall fiscal sector which is the performance criterion we have,” Valdes said. “And we are focused on structural reforms, transparency and governance not just Bitcoin.”
This complex legal wordplay allows El Salvador to keep building its bitcoin reserves without technically breaking its deal with the IMF. Some say the country is walking a fine line—sticking to the letter of the agreement if not the spirit.
Critics say El Salvador is sneaking around the IMF, while supporters argue the government is just sticking to its original plan and using creative ways to stay within the rules.
To simplify, the IMF restricts the use of the fiscal sector funds — core government treasury — which means the government’s actual budget. It means not spending money received through taxation or sovereign debt (printing money).
Fiscal sector funds also include money the government acquires from international loans, such as the one from the IMF.
“The program of El Salvador is not about Bitcoin,” Valdes said. “It’s much more, much deeper in structural reforms, in governance, in transparency. There’s a lot of progress there. And also fiscal. And authorities have been making a lot of progress implementing the reform.”
Bukele has been vocal about his love for Bitcoin and often uses social media to show off the gains or mock the critics.
According to recent data, the national bitcoin reserve has made a lot of money, over 100% at current prices.
