El Salvador added eight additional BTC, violating IMF terms

El Salvador has purchased eight additional Bitcoins despite warnings from the IMF. The IMF recently restricted the nation from adding more crypto to its reserves as part of a loan deal. Arkham Intelligence revealed the country had reached nearly 6,200 BTC worth over $674 million.

According to Arkham Intelligence, El Salvador has bought over 6,200 BTC with a market value of over $674 million. El Salvador added eight more BTC to its reserves despite the IMF warning the nation not to purchase additional crypto. On Tuesday, the IMF pushed the nation to stop crypto acquisitions as part of the conditions of a $1.4 billion loan deal. The country has, on several occasions, defied the IMF restrictions. 

IMF wants El Salvador to wind down crypto acquisitions

EL SALVADOR JUST BOUGHT MORE BITCOIN pic.twitter.com/HlEJMkFIOW

— The Bitcoin Office (@bitcoinofficesv) May 28, 2025

The new BTC acquisition announcement came shortly after the IMF and El Salvador’s officials struck an agreement on the first evaluation of the 40-month Extended Fund Facility (EFF). The review, which focused on economic reforms, revealed that the nation had met most targets. The EFF review also praised the country for improving its macroeconomic stability. 

The IMF said it had achieved progress on structural benchmarks. The financial organization added that it had achieved significant milestones in inflation control in El Salvador. The global financial institution also said that implementing the fiscal reform plan remained critical in creating conditions for more sustainable growth. The IMF also warned that it would strive to ensure that the crypto held in government wallets did not go beyond the greed threshold. 

The El Salvador government formally paused direct acquisitions of Bitcoin to comply with the IMF’s loan deal terms. However, the country’s Bitcoin Office has continued to make regular purchases. Its official website stated that legal distinction allows the office to continue to make daily Bitcoin acquisitions without undermining performance criteria.

Legal reforms in El Salvador stripped Bitcoin of compulsory legal tender status but maintained it as an option currency. The nation made the legal reforms in order to satisfy the terms set by the IMF. 

According to the IMF, the $1.4 billion loan package would be part of a broader arrangement under the EFF, which is expected to unlock extra financial support, potentially totaling over $3.5 billion. The loan facility would also help the nation manage its public debt load, which had hit 85 percent of El Salvador’s GDP last year. 

Rodrigo Valdes, the Director of the IMF Western Hemisphere Department, said El Salvador would continue to comply with the terms outlined by the global financial institution. Valdes added that the nation’s commitment to non-accumulation of crypto by the overall fiscal sector was the performance criterion they had in place. 

El Salvador’s President publicly mocks the IMF’s suggestions 

The President of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, refuted the terms issued by the IMF under its December loan deal agreement. Bukele mocked the IMF’s suggestions just days after the global financial institution revealed new terms that seek to apply pressure on the nation. Bukele said the nation would not stop adding more BTC into its reserves. 

“This all stops in April.’ This all stops in June.’ This all stops in December.’ No, it’s not stopping.”

Nayib Bukele, El Salvador President. 

The IMF’s new rules aimed to set up continuous quantitative performance criteria with a ‘ceiling of o’ on all government BTC purchases. The purchase of BTC using taxpayers’ money has previously put the nation under the scrutiny of the global financial watchdog. In 2022, the IMF urged the nation to strip Bitcoin of its legal tender status, citing risks to consumer protections and financial stability after it approved its use in 2021.

In October last year, the IMF suggested narrowing the scope of El Salvador’s Bitcoin Law. The global financial institution said that limiting the reach of the country’s Bitcoin law would strengthen regulatory frameworks and limit public exposure to the digital asset. The IMF made these suggestions after the country suffered multiple credit rating downgrades by Fitch and Moody’s in 2022.

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