IMF confirms El Salvador’s bitcoin growth was funded by private donations, not public money
IMF says bitcoin came from donations, not government money
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) confirmed that El Salvador did not use public funds to buy bitcoin after the first review of its loan program. The IMF said all bitcoin added to official holdings since June 2025 came from private donations.
The fund based its statement on documentation provided by Salvadoran authorities. It also said no further accumulation beyond the documented donations is expected.
Key details from the IMF statement
- El Salvador is set to receive about $140 million after a staff-level agreement on the combined second and third reviews of its $1.4 billion financing program. The agreement still needs approval from the IMF board.
- The IMF confirmed that no public funds were used for bitcoin accumulation since June 2025.
- Majority control of the Chivo crypto wallet has moved to a private operator, which the IMF did not identify. El Salvador keeps a minority stake and remains responsible for safeguarding customer assets.
- El Salvador and IMF staff agreed to strengthen legal and supervisory frameworks for crypto and improve oversight of bitcoin held by the public sector.
What the IMF's disclosure tells us
The disclosure helps explain how El Salvador's bitcoin holdings have grown even though the IMF's first review had asked that the public sector's bitcoin balance remain unchanged. The country's official tracker shows holdings at 7,764.37 BTC. That balance jumped by more than 1,000 BTC in November and then continued to grow by one bitcoin per day.
The IMF statement did not name the donors or say how much each contributed. President Nayib Bukele said in March of the previous year that the country's bitcoin purchases would not stop.
What is confirmed and what remains unclear
Confirmed: The IMF confirmed that all bitcoin added to official holdings since June 2025 came from private donations and that no public funds were used. It also confirmed the staff-level agreement and the planned loan disbursement, pending board approval.
Unclear: The IMF did not identify the private donors or the private operator that now controls the Chivo wallet. The statement also did not specify how much each donor contributed.
Why this matters
Bitcoin policy has been a central part of the talks between El Salvador and the IMF. The original agreement made private-sector acceptance of bitcoin voluntary, required taxes to be paid in U.S. dollars, and limited public-sector purchases. This new confirmation shows that El Salvador has followed those limits, using only private donations to grow its bitcoin holdings.
