Despite IMF Pressure, El Salvador Continues Stacking Bitcoin (BTC) for Its National Crypto Reserve

The government of El Salvador continues stacking Bitcoin (BTC) for its national crypto reserve, despite an ongoing deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF)

The government of El Salvador continues to add Bitcoin (BTC) to its national crypto reserve, despite an ongoing deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) stipulating that the Central American country stop using public funds to purchase Bitcoin as one of the conditions for a loan agreement.

According to data from the El Salvador Bitcoin Office, the country acquired an additional seven BTC in the last seven days, bringing its total holdings to 6,173 BTC, valued at over $637 million.

El Salvador's Bitcoin Office has continued its steady pace of Bitcoin acquisitions months after the IMF agreement was signed and shows no sign of halting its Bitcoin purchases.

The Central American country is one of the only nations actively purchasing Bitcoin in open market operations, and its national Bitcoin treasury strategy will serve as a blueprint for other countries also considering Bitcoin strategic reserves, according to crypto industry executives.

Related: El Salvador works with Nvidia to develop sovereign AI infrastructure

El Salvador remains defiant against IMF pressure

El Salvador signed a $1.4 billion loan agreement with the IMF in December 2024. As part of that agreement, the government of the country agreed to rescind its Bitcoin legal tender law and make Bitcoin payments voluntary.

The agreement also stipulated that El Salvador must scale back its Bitcoin accumulation, refraining from using public funds to finance Bitcoin purchases.

Additionally, the deal required the government privatize the Chivo Wallet, which was publicly funded but saw little use among residents.

In January 2025, lawmakers in the Central American country repealed the Bitcoin legal tender law in a 55-2 Congressional vote, although this did nothing to pause or slow Bitcoin acquisitions.

The IMF issued another request to the country to halt Bitcoin buys in March 2025, reiterating the original terms of the agreement. However, El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele pushed back against the requests.

Bukele emphasized that the country would not stop its Bitcoin purchases or slow down its accumulation of BTC in the face of mounting pressure from the supranational financial institution.

"No, it’s not stopping. If it didn’t stop when the world ostracized us and most 'Bitcoiners' abandoned us, it won’t stop now, and it won’t stop in the future," Bukele wrote in a March 4 X post.