IMF claims El Salvador is NOT buying Bitcoin but simply moving coins between wallets

5 hours ago

A July 15 report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) suggests that El Salvador’s increasing Bitcoin holdings are not the effect of caller purchases, but alternatively a reorganization of existing assets.

According to a footnote successful the document:

“Increases successful [El Salvador’s] Bitcoin holdings successful the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Fund bespeak the consolidation of Bitcoin crossed assorted government-owned wallets.”

This assertion straight challenges statements from El Salvador’s National Bitcoin Office, which has publically stated that the Central American authorities continues to bargain Bitcoin daily.

Following the IMF’s prior demands that the state halt purchasing Bitcoin tied to its $1.4 cardinal funding, the study further stated that “the wide banal of Bitcoin held by the nationalist assemblage has remained unchanged since programme approval” and that “efforts should proceed to support the nationalist sector’s holdings of Bitcoin unchanged.”

Notably, on-chain information shows that the state holds implicit 6,200 BTC (more than $738 million) successful its coffers. This places El Salvador among the apical sovereign crypto holders globally.

El Salvador’s Bitcoin compliance efforts

The IMF besides outlined El Salvador’s caller efforts to trim hazard and amended oversight successful its Bitcoin strategy.

According to the report, the Central American country’s authorities person committed to limiting further vulnerability to Bitcoin and expanding transparency astir their crypto operations.

This means that the Nayib Bukele-led authorities volition people quarterly fiscal statements for entities progressive successful its Bitcoin operations, including Chivo, CEL, LaGeo, and Fidebitcoin. Additionally, each Bitcoin activity is expected to beryllium incorporated into nationalist macroeconomic and fiscal data.

The authorities are besides expected to supply the IMF with updated, signed statements detailing Bitcoin held by the nationalist sector.

The IMF added:

“Work is underway successful enacting a broad model for managing government-owned Bitcoins and different crypto assets, with the purpose of strengthening governance, transparency, and accountability arsenic good arsenic defining the relation of the Bitcoin Management Agency, AAB.”

IMF besides stated that the Nayib Bukele-led authorities is moving guardant with its program to extremity nationalist information successful the Chivo wallet project.

According to the fiscal regulator, a concern program for Chivo’s privatization has already been published, and talks with imaginable buyers are successful progress. The extremity is to finalize the merchantability by July 2025.

Finally, the study points to ongoing enactment successful reforming the country’s ineligible model for integer assets. The IMF is providing method assistance to assistance align El Salvador’s regulations with planetary standards, peculiarly successful areas similar plus custody, segregation, and compliance with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing rules.

The crypto assemblage continues to study El Salvador’s Bitcoin commitment, stating it precocious deed an all-time high of $760,075,734, with 30 BTC added over the past month.