El Salvador's president denies reports that the country's Bitcoin reserves have been handed over t

El Salvador's President denies reports that the country's bitcoin reserves have been transferred to private operators

El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele has publicly refuted a recent report in El Pais as false information. The report claimed that El Salvador's Bitcoin reserves, which were part of a national strategic policy, had been handed over to a private operator. Bukel said this never happened.

According to Bucker, this confusion stems from the confusion of two things. He pointed out that the language quoted by the International Monetary Fund actually refers to ownership of "Chivo"-the state-linked digital wallet business, rather than the country's bitcoin reserves themselves. He directly claimed that reports of reserve transfers were completely false.

Why distinguishing the two is crucial

"Chivo" is essentially El Salvador's official national linked wallet service, a platform designed to allow citizens to use Bitcoin in daily transactions. Strategic Bitcoin reserves are a completely different concept, which specifically refers to the bitcoins accumulated and held by the government as long-term national policy decisions. According to this explanation, confusing these two separate concepts is what caused the story to make major headlines in the first place.

How much Bitcoin does El Salvador actually hold?

As of September 4, 2026, El Salvador's official Bitcoin reserves are approximately 7,764 BTC, valued at approximately US$619 million to US$628 million at current prices. This makes El Salvador the world's fifth-largest known holder of government bitcoin, behind the larger holdings of public officials in China , the United Kingdom and Ukraine, but ahead of countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Bhutan.

When will they start accumulating? What is the average purchase price?

El Salvador's journey began in September 2021, when under the leadership of President Bucker, the country became the first country in the world to make Bitcoin legal tender. Since then, the country has generally followed a stable daily purchase strategy, publicly described as purchasing approximately one bitcoin per day, gradually increasing reserves over time, rather than making several large purchases.

Based on recent figures, the total cost base for the government's current positions is approximately US$388.9 million. This equates to an average purchase price of around $50,000 per coin, reflecting years of buying across different market conditions, from low prices in the early days to high prices today.

Are they currently profitable or losing money?

According to the latest data, El Salvador has considerable unrealized profits. With total position value of approximately US$628 million and total costs of approximately US$388.9 million, the country's book gain is approximately US$239 million. This is an unrealized gain, meaning it exists only on the books based on current market prices and will only translate into a lock-in profit if the country actually sells any bitcoins, which has shown no intention of publicly selling.

Does President Bucker personally hold Bitcoin? Does he have his own exposure?

This is a reasonable question, but there is currently no clear public disclosure confirming how many individual bitcoins Bucker holds in addition to overseeing state reserves. What the public knows is that since 2021, he has been the main face of promoting this national policy, often announcing purchases directly through his social media account. In addition to its role in managing the country's official positions, there are no verified public financial disclosures detailing their personal cryptocurrency positions that differ from the country's treasury.

A new situation worth mentioning here

To add background information related to this story, the International Monetary Fund confirmed on September 3, 2026 that public government funds have not been used to expand El Salvador's Bitcoin reserves since June 2025, as the country's loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund specifically limits the growth of public sector Bitcoin holdings. Instead, the government said the recent increase in the number of coins (from approximately 5,968 BTC to the current 7,764 BTC) came from private donations. However, the identities of these donors and the exact amount given by each donor have not been publicly disclosed. This detail is important because it suggests that there is already an unresolved transparency issue surrounding the pattern of recent reserves growth, which is completely separate from the confusion of Chiewo's wallet that Bukel is responding to.

Views on the situation

Numerically speaking, this part of the story is quite well-documented: the reserves are real, approximately 7,764 BTC, and the country is currently profitable on paper. The real ambiguity is everything around transparency. The country disclosed its total coin count and released wallet addresses, which is more open than most governments that hold bitcoin offer. But when it comes to who is actually funding recent increases in reserves, and whether any part of the bitcoin-related business structure has now quietly shifted to private participation, the public is mainly asked to trust official statements rather than independently verify details.

This does not necessarily mean that any misconduct occurred here. It is entirely possible that this is just an incident that the International Monetary Fund's documents on Chiewo Wallet's stake were misinterpreted as something bigger than the actual situation. But between undisclosed private donors funding recent Bitcoin purchases and denying reports of reserve transfers, this is a good time for anyone watching the matter closely to choose a position before waiting for verifiable proof, such as confirmation of the actual wallet address, rather than just based on which public statement sounds more convincing.