El Salvador, the globe’s inaugural nation to embrace Bitcoin as legal currency, has persistently procured the cryptocurrency in spite of a $1.4 billion loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that contained stipulations against further acquisition.
The government’s treasury wallet presently secures 6,209 Bitcoin (BTC), having incorporated 240 BTC since December 19, 2024, after the announcement of the IMF agreement, in accordance with information from El Salvador’s Bitcoin Office.
In December, El Salvador negotiated an arrangement with the IMF for a $1.4 billion loan, which mandated the government to rescind Bitcoin’s designation as legal tender and cease its public BTC accumulation.
Nonetheless, the nation has persisted in purchasing one BTC daily, a tactic initiated by President Nayib Bukele in 2022.
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In response to inquiries about the acquisitions, Rodrigo Valdes, head of the IMF’s Western Hemisphere Department, stated that the country remains technically compliant. “El Salvador continues to adhere to their obligation of non-accumulation of Bitcoin by the overall fiscal sector,” Valdes remarked in an April 26 media briefing.
Others highlight the IMF deal’s “flexible” interpretation as pivotal to El Salvador’s ongoing acquisitions.
“The IMF’s ‘flexible interpretation’ implies purchases may involve non-public sector entities or reclassified assets, sustaining technical compliance,” Anndy Lian, author and intergovernmental blockchain consultant, informed Cointelegraph, adding that this “alternative strategy enables El Salvador to preserve its Bitcoin-friendly reputation while securing essential IMF funding.”
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Crypto remittances decrease in 2025
While El Salvador’s Bitcoin acquisition seems unaffected, cryptocurrency remittance transactions to the nation dropped significantly in 2025.
Cryptocurrency transfers to Salvadoran wallets decreased by 44.5% during the first quarter of the year compared to the same timeframe last year, according to statistics from the Central Reserve Bank shared by Diario, a local news outlet.
Crypto remittance payments totaled $16 million in the first quarter of 2025, representing 0.52% of total remittances received in the country, reflecting a $12.8 million drop from the $28.3 million received in the first quarter of 2024, when crypto payments constituted 1.08% of total remittances.
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