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The International Monetary Fund has firmly addressed the recent wave of speculation regarding El Salvador’s Bitcoin approach, informing journalists that the Central American country has not augmented its sovereign reserve. Apparent increases in the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Fund (SBRF), the IMF stated, simply illustrate “transfers between various government-owned wallets” and maintain the nation’s overall situation unchanged.
Is El Salvador Merely Moving Bitcoin Wallets?
IMF Communications Director Julie Kozack provided the clarification during a standard press briefing on Thursday, answering a question from Inner City Press reporter Matthew Lee. “As we have indicated previously, the total quantity of BTC held across government-owned wallets remains unchanged, and that aligns with El Salvador’s program commitments,” Kozack commented, stating that any surface growth in the SBRF “pertain[s] to transfers between various government-owned wallets.”
The assurance comes shortly after the IMF Executive Board finalized El Salvador’s 2025 Article IV consultation and initial review of its 40-month Extended Fund Facility (EFF). This evaluation unlocked a $118 million installment, escalating total disbursements under the $1.4 billion agreement to roughly $231 million. The EFF mandates the Bukele administration to maintain its net BTC exposure stable while it positions public finances on what the IMF describes as “a firm downward debt trajectory.”
Just hours prior to the IMF’s comments, El Salvador’s official Bitcoin Office declared on X: “EL SALVADOR JUST ACQUIRED MORE BITCOIN,” sharing a screenshot that displayed an 8 BTC acquisition and a total of 6,248.18 BTC—valued at approximately $722 million at the current spot price of around $116,000. The announcement reflected President Nayib Bukele’s enduring slogan that the nation procures “one Bitcoin daily,” a phrase he has reiterated since November 2024.
Nevertheless, the IMF asserts that these figures are an accounting illusion. While the SBRF’s wallet address can illustrate incremental inflows, a corresponding amount is generally deducted from other state-controlled wallets—most notably a treasury cold-storage address utilized by the fiscal agency BANDESAL—leaving the nation’s consolidated situation unchanged. “Risks from Bitcoin continue to be managed,” Kozack underscored, commending “solid” overall program performance, including fiscal and reserve objectives “achieved with margins.”
Under the EFF’s technical memorandum of understanding, El Salvador is required to limit net crypto acquisitions by the non-financial public sector to the level in effect when the program was endorsed last February. The aim is to avert further fluctuations on a public balance sheet that already reflects Bitcoin exposure equivalent to about 2 percent of GDP. Reuters reported in March that the IMF had previously cautioned San Salvador against “increasing government cryptocurrency exposure,” even as officials touted intermittent purchases.
At the time of reporting, neither President Bukele nor his Bitcoin adviser Max Keiser had publicly responded to the IMF’s statement. The Bitcoin Office account, meanwhile, has not removed or revised its initial post.
At the time of writing, BTC traded at $
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