The recent $1.4 billion loan agreement between El Salvador and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has entered a new chapter, with the country’s Bitcoin story at the center. While the IMF imposes strict restrictions on further Bitcoin purchases by the government in a report, President Nayib Bukele stands firm: the accumulation does not stop. What exactly is going on here, and how do these contradictions reconcile?
In the recently published IMF staff report, part of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) deal, it is clearly stated that El Salvador’s government may not buy any new Bitcoins. This is stated in a letter of intent to IMF Director Kristalina Georgieva, signed by the central bank president and the finance minister:
“In accordance with the agreement with the IMF, we will not accumulate any new Bitcoins in our portfolio.”
The report also demands transparency: the Bitcoin Office must disclose all wallet addresses and clarify its role in the strategy. This fits with previous IMF pressure to curb El Salvador’s Bitcoin adventure – started in 2021 as the world’s first country with BTC as legal tender – with the aim of limiting financial risks.
Yet, El Salvador bought 1 BTC on March 4, 2025, bringing the total reserve to 6,101 BTC (about $510 million at $83,908 per BTC today). This seems to go directly against the IMF conditions, which have been in effect since the deal in December 2024 and were approved by the IMF board at the end of February 2025.
Bukele did not beat around the bush. On X he responded fiercely: “‘This all stops in April.’ ‘This all stops in June.’ ‘This all stops in December.’ No, it does not stop.” He shared a message from the Bitcoin Office about the purchase of 1 BTC and added:
“If it didn’t stop when the world shut us out and most ‘Bitcoiners’ left us behind, it won’t stop now and it won’t in the future.”
Who these “Bitcoiners” are remains vague – he may be referring to early critics within the crypto community who did not support his vision when the IMF and others disapproved of El Salvador in 2021-2022.
However, Bukele’s tone is combative. Since the start on September 6, 2021 with 400 BTC, and the promise on November 21, 2022 to buy 1 BTC daily, he has maintained the strategy. Even after the IMF deal, the country bought $1 million worth of BTC in December 2024 and another 11 BTC on February 4, 2025. This raises questions: is Bukele sticking to the deal, or is he deliberately defying the IMF?
There seems to be a gap between word and deed. The IMF report explicitly prohibits “voluntary” BTC purchases by the public sector, but does not exclude exceptions for BTC obtained through seizures or other non-voluntary means. Bukele’s Bitcoin Office, led by Stacy Herbert, claims that El Salvador continues to buy BTC “for its Strategic Bitcoin Reserve,” possibly through a loophole in the agreement. Posts on X suggest that the country describes the purchases as “strategic,” outside the IMF definition of “economic activities.”
The timing of the 1 BTC purchase on March 4 – shortly after the IMF report – however, feels like a statement. It could be a political stunt to please his base, or a signal that Bukele is testing the boundaries of the deal. But the risk is real: violation could jeopardize the $1.4 billion (and an additional $2.1 billion from other banks).
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