Based on findings from the International Monetary Fund, El Salvador has abstained from utilizing public money to build its bitcoin reserves since June 2025, noting that the nation supplied records proving subsequent additions stemmed entirely from private gifts.
This information emerged as representatives of the IMF agreed on terms with Salvadoran officials regarding the integrated second and third evaluations of the nation’s 40-month Extended Fund Facility agreement. Pending clearance by the IMF Executive Board and the fulfillment of specified prior conditions, this agreement will release roughly $140 million for El Salvador.
Previously, the IMF announced it would strive to guarantee that government bitcoin balances remained constant as a condition of the initiative.
Despite this, the administration under President Nayib Bukele acquired an additional 8 BTC shortly after that May declaration, bringing its reserves to 6,190.18 BTC according to data from the local Bitcoin Office at that point.
Several months later during November, the nation revealed an acquisition of 1,090 BTC valued at approximately $100 million. That purchase represented its biggest single-day buy at that time and elevated aggregate reserves to 7,474 BTC.
The recent update from the IMF does not state a grand total for bitcoin gathered via private contributions since June 2025. Furthermore, the IMF noted that no further bitcoin accumulation outside of these verified donations is anticipated.
The organization also mentioned that El Salvador is striving to boost visibility regarding bitcoin holdings across diverse wallets while enhancing oversight and risk management for public-sector digital asset portfolios.
Concurrently, the state has significantly scaled back its involvement in the Chivo digital wallet. Controlling interest and management duties have shifted to a private enterprise, whereas the state maintains a minority share alongside custody duties for user funds.
Bitcoin traded near $81,000 on Friday, marking a 4.5% increase over the past day, based on data from The Block’s BTC price tracker. Total market value reached roughly $1.6 trillion, accompanied by $42.6 billion in daily trading volume.
Originally published at https://www.theblock.co/news/regulation/2026-09-04-el-salvador-has-not-used-public-funds-to-accumulate-bitcoin-since-june-2025-imf-says-413535.
