Key Takeaways
- El Salvador continues accumulating Bitcoin despite conditions in its IMF loan agreement.
- The IMF completed a review this week and expressed satisfaction with the country’s overall progress.
- A legal loophole allows El Salvador to purchase small amounts of BTC without breaching IMF terms.
After months of defying the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over its Bitcoin (BTC) strategy, El Salvador is once again walking a fine line.
Despite entering into a $1.4 billion loan agreement that required it to scale back its Bitcoin-first policies, the Central American country has found a way to keep stacking sats—without technically violating the deal.
El Salvador Quietly Buys More Bitcoin as IMF Watches Closely
On Tuesday, the IMF concluded its first review of the 40-month Extended Fund Facility (EFF), reaching a staff-level agreement with El Salvador.
The review highlighted progress in areas like inflation control, fiscal reforms, and structural benchmarks. But Bitcoin remains a sticking point.
The IMF reiterated its concerns over El Salvador’s Bitcoin strategy and said it would continue monitoring the government’s crypto reserves.
As part of the loan terms, El Salvador agreed to limit its BTC activity—rolling back the Chivo wallet program, removing the requirement for merchants to accept Bitcoin, and halting public BTC purchases.
However, while official Bitcoin purchases have ceased, the country has quietly resumed accumulating BTC through another channel.
Legal Loophole Lets El Salvador Keep Buying BTC
On the same day as the IMF review, El Salvador purchased eight more Bitcoins.
The catch? These acquisitions are handled by the country’s “Bitcoin Office,” a state entity that exists outside the official fiscal sector.
Because of this separation, these small daily purchases don’t breach the IMF’s performance standards.
It’s a clever workaround: by buying in small amounts under a different arm of the government, El Salvador can continue to build its Bitcoin reserves without triggering a violation of the IMF agreement.
On-chain data from Arkham shows that the country now holds nearly 6,200 BTC, worth more than $674 million at current prices.
El Salvador may be playing by the letter of the law, but the IMF is clearly watching closely.
Whether this quiet accumulation strategy continues without consequence remains to be seen.
Prashant Jha is a seasoned crypto journalist based in Delhi, India, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science Engineering. Passionate about the evolving world of blockchain and cryptocurrencies, he has been a dedicated voice in the industry since 2018. Prashant’s expertise lies in regulatory reporting, where he unravels complex legal and financial developments with clarity and precision. Before joining CCN in 2024, he honed his craft at Cointelegraph, establishing himself as a trusted name in crypto journalism.
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