The Worldwide Financial Fund (IMF) says El Salvador’s Bitcoin reserve development over the previous yr got here from personal donations, not new authorities spending.
In its newest evaluation of the nation’s mortgage program, the worldwide monetary company stated paperwork equipped by El Salvador confirmed that Bitcoin amassed for the reason that earlier evaluation mirrored personal donations. It added that no public assets have been used and stated it expects no additional accumulation past these documented contributions.
The Fund additionally reiterated that earlier adjustments in El Salvador’s BTC place had not essentially represented new shopping for.
El Salvador’s Bitcoin reserve faces an accounting reckoning beneath new IMF strain
In earlier evaluations, it stated will increase within the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve mirrored transfers amongst government-controlled wallets, whereas small fluctuations elsewhere have been linked to Bitcoin-denominated deposits held via Chivo.
The IMF additionally famous that the Salvadoran authorities had “considerably unwound” its stakes within the Chivo e-wallet. It defined:
“Majority possession and operational management have been transferred to a non-public operator, whereas a minority stake and custodial duties for buyer property have been retained by the federal government.”
El Salvador’s Bitcoin push continues regardless of the IMF accounting
The IMF’s evaluation sits uneasily beside each the scale of El Salvador’s rising reserve and the federal government’s continued pro-Bitcoin messaging.
The nation held about 6,224 BTC on the finish of June 2025. Its official reserve tracker now exhibits greater than 7,764 BTC, a rise of roughly 1,540 BTC.
If the IMF’s newest evaluation is utilized to that subsequent accumulation, a lot of the rise got here from personal donations reasonably than taxpayers funding new Bitcoin purchases.
But El Salvador continues to explain itself as an lively Bitcoin purchaser.
As just lately as Aug. 28, the Nationwide Bitcoin Workplace stated the nation had “simply purchased extra Bitcoin” and repeated its longstanding message: “One BTC per day, day-after-day.”
The federal government has additionally continued pushing BTC past the treasury. President Nayib Bukele has maintained his pro-Bitcoin stance, whereas El Salvador has stored increasing Bitcoin schooling initiatives and presenting the asset as a part of its long-term financial technique.
Final yr, the nation additionally overhauled its Bitcoin treasury construction, transferring away from a single reused pockets and spreading its holdings throughout a number of addresses. Officers stated the change adopted digital-asset safety greatest practices and lowered potential long-term publicity to quantum-computing threats.
The brand new construction retains the addresses public, permitting observers to confirm the reserve stability. Nonetheless, it doesn’t distinguish BTC purchased with public cash from personal donations or transfers between government-controlled wallets.
That distinction now sits on the middle of the disagreement. El Salvador’s reserve has grown by greater than 1,500 BTC whereas the federal government continues to publicly promote day by day purchases, however the IMF says the latest accumulation it verified didn’t require extra public spending.
The nation clearly owns considerably extra Bitcoin than it did a yr in the past. What stays unresolved is whether or not “one BTC per day” nonetheless describes government-funded purchases or just the tempo at which Bitcoin is getting into the reserve.
