🇸🇻 El Salvador's Bold Bitcoin Strategy Amid IMF Scrutiny
💰 El Salvador is continuing its daily bitcoin purchases despite conditions set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to limit such activities. During an interview at the Web Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Economy Minister Maria Luisa Hayem reaffirmed the government's commitment to acquiring bitcoin, stating,
There’s a commitment of President Bukele to keep accumulating assets as a way to do precisely that.
📊 As of now, El Salvador holds approximately 6,162 BTC valued at over $583 million and has been adding about one bitcoin per day. This comes after the country secured a $1.4 billion loan from the IMF in late 2024, which required it to tighten fiscal policies and reduce bitcoin-related activities. President Nayib Bukele's decision to make bitcoin legal tender in 2021 had previously strained relations with institutional creditors and led to credit rating downgrades.
🔄 As part of the loan agreement, El Salvador also made bitcoin acceptance optional for businesses to reassure global financial markets. However, Hayem emphasized that bitcoin remains a crucial part of the government's strategy:
Bitcoin keeps being an important project. There is an asset accumulation that we’re seeing from the government perspective, from the private sector perspective.
🧐 The IMF has been closely monitoring El Salvador's compliance with the bitcoin non-purchasing clause of the credit deal. During its 2025 spring meetings, the Fund reiterated that the country continues to honor its commitment. Rodrigo Valdes, the IMF’s Western Hemisphere Director, confirmed that there has been no new bitcoin accumulation since the loan agreement was made.
