The IMF confirmed that all bitcoin El Salvador has added to its official holdings since June 2025 came from private donations, not public funds. The disclosure came alongside a staff-level agreement that clears the way for roughly $140 million in additional financing, and it confirms no further public-sector bitcoin accumulation is expected beyond the donations already recorded.
The International Monetary Fund said El Salvador did not use public funds to accumulate bitcoin after the first review of its loan program, citing documentation supplied by Salvadoran authorities. The fund said the documents showed the bitcoin added since that review came from private donations. According to the IMF: "Bitcoin accumulation since the first review reflects private donations".
Donations explain the rising balance
The disclosure explains how El Salvador's holdings kept growing even though the IMF's first review had called for the public sector's bitcoin balance to remain unchanged. The country's official tracker has since risen to 7,764.37 BTC, after the balance jumped by more than 1,000 BTC in November and continued receiving one BTC a day. The IMF did not identify the donors or say how much each contributed.
President Nayib Bukele had said in March last year that the country's bitcoin purchases would not stop because of the IMF deal. Bitcoin policy has been central to the talks since El Salvador became the first country to make bitcoin legal tender in 2021, though the original IMF agreement later made private-sector acceptance voluntary, required taxes to be paid in U.S. dollars, and limited public-sector purchases.
Chivo wallet moves to private control
The government has transferred majority ownership and operational control of its Chivo crypto wallet to a private operator, while keeping a minority stake and responsibility for custody of customer assets. The IMF did not identify the operator. El Salvador and IMF staff also agreed on steps to strengthen the legal and supervisory framework for crypto and to improve oversight of bitcoin held by the public sector.
These disclosures came as the two sides reached a staff-level agreement on the combined second and third reviews of El Salvador's 40-month Extended Fund Facility, a program worth approximately $1.4 billion. As a result, the country is set to receive about $140 million more in financing, pending approval from the IMF's Executive Board.
Growth forecast backs the agreement
IMF Mission Chief Rodrigo Valdés Torres forecast real GDP growth of 4.5% for 2026, citing strong inflows of remittances and tourist dollars alongside increased investment and domestic consumption. The fund also projects the non-financial public sector's primary surplus rising from 2.9% of GDP this year to 3.7% in 2027.
Sources: International Monetary Fund, CoinDesk, CoinGape
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