El Salvador’s Bitcoin reserve increases after the IMF began reviewing its financing program do not involve new purchases funded by public resources, according to the International Monetary Fund. In documents shared with the lender, Salvadoran authorities attributed the growth to private donations after the IMF’s first review of the program concluded in June 2025.
In a Thursday statement, the IMF said it verified the explanation through materials provided by local authorities, concluding that the additions therefore should not be treated as additional government-funded Bitcoin buying within the terms of the program. The IMF also said control of the Chivo wallet—El Salvador’s state-linked Bitcoin wallet—has been shifted to a private operator, while the government retains a minority stake and certain custodial responsibilities.
Key takeaways
- The IMF says post–June 2025 Bitcoin reserve increases were supported by documents showing they came from private donations, not government financing.
- The lender expects no further Bitcoin accumulation beyond the donation activity it says is documented.
- IMF said majority ownership and operational control of the Chivo wallet moved to a private operator, with the state keeping minority and custody roles.
- El Salvador’s public announcements about ongoing accumulation have previously renewed scrutiny over compliance with IMF conditions.
IMF verification after the June 2025 review
The IMF’s latest explanation is aimed at clarifying the source of Bitcoin increases during the period following its first review of El Salvador’s IMF-supported financing arrangement. In its statement, the IMF said the documents submitted by Salvadoran authorities verified that the accumulation did not rely on “public resources.”
The distinction matters because El Salvador’s IMF deal includes restrictions on how the public sector can engage with Bitcoin. When Bitcoin-related activity appears to expand after key compliance checkpoints, investors and stakeholders typically look for whether the activity aligns with the program’s conditions—particularly around public funding and state-led accumulation.
The IMF also framed expectations going forward: it said it does not anticipate additional accumulation beyond what can be tied to documented donations. That message effectively sets a compliance ceiling for future reserve growth, at least as the IMF continues to monitor the arrangement.
Chivo wallet control reshuffle
Beyond the donation-source question, the IMF’s statement addressed governance of the Chivo wallet. According to the lender, majority ownership and operational control have been transferred to a private operator. At the same time, the government retains a minority stake and custodial responsibilities.
This matters because earlier IMF commitments emphasized reducing the government’s role in Bitcoin-related activity. A shift in operational control can be seen as consistent with a broader effort to move away from state-driven Bitcoin operations—though the exact implications for users and custody arrangements depend on how the private operator manages day-to-day functions.
How previous rules set the stage for scrutiny
El Salvador’s IMF controversy around Bitcoin centers on the line between government involvement and private-sector activity. In December 2024, the IMF agreement required changes that included limiting public-sector involvement in Bitcoin under the IMF package. The arrangement also made private-sector Bitcoin acceptance voluntary and required that taxes be paid in US dollars, while calling for government involvement in Chivo to be unwound.
Then, in March 2025, the IMF issued new documents that barred “voluntary accumulation” of Bitcoin by the public sector. President Nayib Bukele responded publicly, saying purchases were “not stopping” and that El Salvador would continue adding at least one BTC daily.
The tension between El Salvador’s statements about ongoing accumulation and the IMF’s restrictions has repeatedly reemerged in subsequent months. After the March 2025 update, the country’s Bitcoin Office often posted that El Salvador continued to accumulate Bitcoin, which prompted renewed questions about whether the additions were consistent with the program’s constraints.
From a private-donation explanation to a reserve tracker snapshot
The IMF previously addressed the issue after El Salvador’s December 2024 commitments. In July 2025, the IMF offered an initial explanation, stating that it had found no new Bitcoin purchased since the December agreement. At that time, it attributed increases to consolidation among government wallets.
However, El Salvador’s November 2025 announcement that it had acquired 1,090 BTC worth $100 million—after the first review timeline—brought the question back to the forefront. Coverage at the time highlighted compliance concerns tied to the $1.4 billion IMF program, and an IMF representative reportedly indicated the lender would not provide “running commentary” on announcements, assessing compliance in due course.
Now, the IMF says those due diligence efforts produced a clearer result: it verified that accumulation after the June 2025 review came from private donations rather than additional Bitcoin purchases financed with government resources.
For readers tracking the scale of El Salvador’s holdings, the National Bitcoin Office’s reserve tracker reports that El Salvador holds about 7,764 BTC. Using CoinGecko’s cited BTC price of $80,900, the stockpile is valued at roughly $628 million. The IMF’s framing suggests that the higher balance relative to earlier points should be interpreted, at least for IMF monitoring purposes, as donation-linked additions rather than new public-sector purchases.
What to watch next for investors and market participants
While the IMF’s latest statement provides a compliance-oriented explanation and sets expectations for future accumulation, uncertainty remains around how independently verifiable the donation documentation is over time and whether future reserve changes match the “documented donations only” boundary the IMF described. Market participants should continue to monitor subsequent IMF reviews, alongside updates from El Salvador’s Bitcoin Office and any further disclosures tied to the Chivo wallet’s private operator arrangements.
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