El Salvador’s latest $100M Bitcoin haul rekindles questions around IMF program

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El Salvador, the archetypal state to follow Bitcoin arsenic ineligible tender, says it has bought much than $100 cardinal successful BTC contempt pledging to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to bounds nationalist vulnerability to the plus arsenic portion of a indebtedness agreement.

According to information from El Salvador’s Bitcoin Office, the authorities acquired 1,090 Bitcoin (BTC) worthy much than $100 cardinal connected Tuesday. The acquisition comes aft the IMF said successful a July report that the Central American federation had not bought immoderate caller Bitcoin since the enactment approved a $1.4 cardinal indebtedness program astatine the extremity of 2024.

According to El Salvador’s Bitcoin reserve data, the country’s Bitcoin holdings went from 5,968 BTC connected Dec. 18, 2024 — erstwhile the authorities inked a woody with the IMF — to implicit 7,474 BTC pursuing its latest acquisition announcement.

El Salvador’s reserves were valued astatine astir $683 cardinal astatine the clip of writing, contempt Bitcoin losing crushed aft falling 28% from an all-time precocious of implicit $126,000 successful aboriginal October to $96,000 astatine the clip of writing.

The determination follows comments successful July from Quentin Ehrenmann, wide manager astatine My First Bitcoin — a non-governmental enactment focused connected Bitcoin adoption — who said that El Salvador’s Bitcoin reserve had a limited interaction connected the broader population. He said that “since the authorities entered into this declaration with the IMF, Bitcoin is nary longer ineligible tender, and we haven’t seen immoderate different effort to amended people.”

“The government, apparently, continues to accumulate Bitcoin, which is beneficial for the authorities — it’s not straight bully for the people.“

The IMF and the Salvadoran authorities did not respond to Cointelegraph’s requests for remark by publication.

Is El Salvador buying Bitcoin oregon not?

Data from El Salvador’s Bitcoin Office appears to amusement that the authorities has continued to accumulate BTC since signing the IMF agreement. The IMF besides requested that the state restrict Bitcoin purchases successful aboriginal March, successful accordance with the presumption of the erstwhile indebtedness agreement.

Still, a missive of intent signed by El Salvador’s cardinal slope president and Minister of Finance — quoted successful the aforementioned July IMF study — claims that the Central American state bought nary Bitcoin since the 2024 loan.

The IMF study explained that Chivo “does not set its Bitcoin reserves to bespeak changes successful clients’ Bitcoin deposits,” which led to “minor” discrepancies that made it look that El Salvador’s nationalist assemblage was accumulating BTC.

The letter, signed by Salvadoran officials, further stated that “in enactment with commitments nether the program, the banal of Bitcoins held by the nationalist assemblage remains unchanged.” It besides promised that steps to trim vulnerability are being taken.

“We are taking steps to mitigate fiscal risks by reducing the nationalist sector’s relation successful the Chivo wallet and reframing the Bitcoin project.”

Those assurances came earlier the latest — and unusually ample — Bitcoin purchase. Even so, the authorities has continued to suggest it was steadily accumulating BTC earlier this week’s buy, raising caller questions implicit however intimately it is adhering to the IMF woody and however its Bitcoin reserves are being reported.

Magazine: What Bitcoin adoption is ACTUALLY similar successful El Salvador

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