IMF Says El Salvador’s Bitcoin (BTC) Accumulation Since June 2025 Came From Private Donations

IMF Clears El Salvador’s Bitcoin Books

The International Monetary Fund confirmed on Sept. 3, 2026 that El Salvador’s Bitcoin (BTC) accumulation since June 27, 2025 was financed entirely through private donations, with no public resources used at any point. In a statement published in Washington, the Fund said Salvadoran authorities supplied documentation covering every Bitcoin movement recorded after the first review of the country’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) — the 40-month lending program approved in February 2025 — was completed on June 27, 2025. The verification settles a question that had trailed the sovereign reserve for more than a year: on-chain observers repeatedly flagged rising balances in wallets tied to the country’s Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, fueling speculation that the government was quietly stacking coins in breach of its IMF commitments. Raw blockchain data cannot distinguish a purchase from an internal consolidation or a gift, and in July 2025 the Fund itself had noted that reported wallet increases partly reflected Bitcoin being moved between state-controlled addresses rather than fresh buying. The document-based review resolves that ambiguity: the post-review accumulation came from unnamed crypto whales rather than treasury spending. Neither the donors nor the volume of privately donated BTC was disclosed, leaving the exact size of the contribution unquantified. The IMF went further, stating that no additional accumulation is expected beyond the donations already documented — language that effectively caps public-sector stack growth for the rest of the program. For a country that adopted Bitcoin as legal tender in 2021 and built its reserve through direct state purchases, the shift to donation-sourced growth changes the mechanics of its Bitcoin policy: the sovereign stack can still expand, but only on terms compatible with IMF fiscal constraints, preserving the reserve’s long-term HODL character without fresh fiscal risk.

$140 Million Hinges on Board Approval

The disclosure landed alongside a staff-level agreement covering the combined second and third reviews of the EFF, and it carries a concrete payoff for San Salvador. If the IMF Executive Board approves the reviews and El Salvador completes the agreed prior actions, the country would gain access to approximately $140 million — equivalent to SDR 101.96 million — under an arrangement with total access of roughly $1.4 billion; it has already drawn SDR 172.32 million so far. The Fund stressed the deal is preliminary, and the money stays out of reach until the Board signs off. The statement also detailed a wider retreat of the state from crypto operations: majority ownership and operational control of the Chivo wallet — the app launched alongside the 2021 Bitcoin law — have been transferred to an unidentified private operator, while the government retains a minority stake and custodial responsibility for customer assets. Under the original EFF conditions, El Salvador made private-sector Bitcoin acceptance voluntary, required taxes to be paid in U.S. dollars and limited public-sector involvement in Bitcoin-related activities. Both sides agreed to pursue changes to the country’s legal, regulatory and supervisory framework for digital assets, including stronger governance and risk controls over crypto held by the public sector. On the macro side, IMF staff said economic activity has exceeded expectations and projected real GDP growth of 4.5% in 2026, supported by investment, consumption, remittances, tourism and capital inflows. Staff still called for continued fiscal consolidation, stronger governance and a reduction in public debt toward 80% of GDP by 2030. One nuance matters: the no-accumulation language is an expectation embedded in the staff-level agreement, not an independently enforceable ban — but the direction is unmistakable. Donors may add to the stack; the treasury may not. Readers tracking the market in real time can follow live spot and futures prices on Binance.

BTC Eyes $82,300 After 4.45% Rally

The verification closes a chapter that reopened in November 2025, when El Salvador announced it had acquired 1,090 BTC worth $100 million, reviving doubts about compliance with the $1.4 billion program. The dispute had escalated earlier: in March 2025 the Fund issued documents barring “voluntary accumulation” of Bitcoin by the public sector, and President Nayib Bukele responded that the purchases were “not stopping,” pledging at least one BTC per day. An IMF representative had previously declined to offer “running commentary” on the Bitcoin Office’s announcements, saying compliance would be assessed in due course. According to the National Bitcoin Office’s official tracker, the country now holds roughly 7,764 BTC — about $628 million at Bitcoin’s current price of $80,900 — a balance still higher than before the IMF agreement, with the additions now attributed to private donations.

The fresh documentation also clarifies how the reserve grew despite the Fund's first review having called for the public sector's Bitcoin balance to remain unchanged — the condition that made the rising balances a compliance puzzle in the first place. The official tracker shows holdings at 7,764.37 BTC after the November jump of more than 1,000 coins and continued daily additions of one BTC, figures consistent with the donation-sourced growth now confirmed. The IMF statement left donors unnamed and gave no per-donor breakdown, meaning the split of the contribution among contributors remains unknown. El Salvador additionally committed to strengthened legal frameworks and improved oversight of digital assets held by the public sector as part of the same review package.

The IMF's account now stands in direct tension with El Salvador's own messaging. As recently as last week, the National Bitcoin Office tweeted that the country had "just bought more Bitcoin," attaching a treasury chart showing 31 coins added over the prior 30 days — language that contradicts the Fund's donation-based verification. The reserve held 5,968 BTC when the EFF program began in December 2024, per the Bitcoin Office, and reporting on last November's purchase itself was inconsistent, with figures of 1,090 and 1,098.19 BTC added cited in different accounts, putting totals at 7,474 and 7,474.37 BTC respectively. XRP researcher BankXRP, cited by CryptoCompass, flagged the undisclosed donation channel and donor identities as the key open question. Should public funds later be shown in the accumulation, budget execution and asset valuation rules would attach, the analysis noted.

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