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BTC The International Monetary Fund confirms that El Salvador has not used public funds to increase its holdings in Bitcoin
After the International Monetary Fund (IMF) completed its first review of the country's loan program, the agency issued a press release confirming that El Salvador did not use public funds in the process of increasing its holdings in Bitcoin. The official statement pointed out that documents provided by Salvadoran authorities showed that the new Bitcoin holdings came from private donations. The disclosure accompanied the employee-level agreement on the second and third joint review of the country's 40-month Extended Financing Facility (EFF), which was announced on September 3, 2026.
Donations rather than public funds
The IMF said that the increase in Bitcoin since the first review has come from private donors and does not expect to continue to increase its holdings beyond the recorded donations. The finding explains why El Salvador's holdings continue to rise despite previous IMF reviews requiring public sector bitcoin balances to remain unchanged. The IMF did not disclose the identity of the donors or the specific amounts of their respective contributions, and emphasized that the relevant documents were provided by the Salvadoran authorities. This disclosure responds to concerns that have been questioned for months as to why the country's bitcoin reserves have continued to expand while maintaining loan projects.
Growing national reserves
As the balance surged to more than 1,000 bitcoins in November and continued to receive one bitcoin a day since then, El Salvador's official tracking data showed its holdings had climbed to 7,764.37 bitcoins. President Naib Buker said in March last year that Bitcoin purchases in the country would not stop. El Salvador became the first country to designate Bitcoin as legal tender in 2021, although the original IMF agreement later stipulated that private sector acceptance was voluntary, taxes must be paid in U.S. dollars, and restricted public sector purchases. In addition, the government has transferred most ownership and operational control of Chivo Wallet to private operators, while retaining minority interests and custody of customer assets.
Regulatory strengthening and prospects for the way forward
El Salvador and IMF staff also reached consensus on steps to strengthen the legal and supervisory framework for cryptoassets and improve supervision of bitcoin held by the public sector. The government has expanded the national bitcoin treasury and adhered to a strategy of increasing its holdings by one bitcoin a day, measures that have come under review as the IMF assesses whether the project meets its safeguards mechanisms. The staff-level agreement, which still needs to be approved by the IMF's executive board, allows the loan program to move forward to the next lending stage and demonstrates that the IMF and the government will continue to cooperate on Bitcoin policies.
