The IMF has approved a fresh disbursement to El Salvador after finishing its latest program reviews, while making one thing very clear: the country’s Bitcoin exposure has to keep shrinking. The money is moving. The message is unchanged. Less state involvement, more transparency, and no more public-sector Bitcoin games.
- IMF payout: around US$140 million, or SDR 101.96 million
- Bitcoin additions: treated as private donations, not public spending
- Chivo wallet: public involvement has been reduced, but not fully removed
According to the IMF, the Executive Board approved an immediate disbursement of SDR 101.96 million, worth about $138 million at the Fund’s conversion rate, after completing the second and third reviews under El Salvador’s 40-month Extended Fund Facility. Bloomberg reported the amount as $139 million. The small gap is just the usual currency conversion and rounding noise, not some grand mystery.
The bigger point is what the IMF said about Bitcoin. The Fund said documentation showed that Bitcoin accumulation since the first review reflected private donations, and that no public resources were used. It also said, “no further Bitcoin accumulation is expected beyond documented donations.”
That wording matters. It means the IMF is not treating the latest Bitcoin holdings as taxpayer-funded purchases. In plain English, if Bitcoin showed up on El Salvador’s books, the Fund says it came from outside donations, not the government’s wallet.
This is not a full embrace of El Salvador’s Bitcoin strategy. It is a narrow accommodation. The IMF is still drawing a hard line around public money, public custody, and public-sector exposure to crypto.
And that brings us to Chivo, the state-linked Bitcoin wallet that became the symbol of El Salvador’s original crypto push. The IMF said public participation in Chivo has been substantially unwound. Majority ownership and operational control have been transferred to a private operator, but the government still retains a minority stake and custodial responsibilities for customer assets.
That is a partial retreat, not a clean exit. Custody is where the risk lives. Who controls the keys, who holds the liability, and who answers if something goes wrong are not side details. They are the whole point. A wallet is only “decentralized” until somebody has to explain where the money went.
The IMF wants that remaining public-sector role removed. Dan Katz, the Fund’s First Deputy Managing Director, said the residual public involvement “should be fully unwound.” That is about as subtle as an accounting memo gets.
The Fund is also pressing El Salvador to strengthen its digital-asset rules, improve transparency around public crypto holdings, and tighten oversight of crypto firms. That does not mean the IMF is anti-innovation. It means it is anti-opacity, anti-fiscal recklessness, and anti-using the state as a launchpad for speculative theater.
There is a real distinction there, even if some Bitcoin hype merchants pretend otherwise. Decentralization and freedom are one thing. Sloppy government balance sheets dressed up as visionary monetary policy are another.
El Salvador has already backed away from the most aggressive parts of its original Bitcoin experiment. In 2025, the country changed its Bitcoin Law, ending mandatory Bitcoin acceptance for private businesses and requiring taxes to be paid in U.S. dollars. That is a pretty loud admission that real-world finance still has a way of humiliating grand political slogans.
The IMF’s latest move suggests it is willing to work with a narrower version of the experiment, but only if the state keeps stepping back. The government can keep the Bitcoin branding. It just cannot keep turning public institutions into crypto counterparties.
That is the central tension here: El Salvador wants to preserve its identity as a Bitcoin-forward country, while the IMF wants fiscal discipline, transparency, and less risk on the public balance sheet. Those two goals can coexist only if the government stops pretending public-sector Bitcoin accumulation is harmless.
The IMF also sees the wider economy improving. It said economic activity has outperformed expectations, with support from investment, private consumption, remittances, tourism, and capital inflows. The Fund projects real GDP growth of 4.5% in 2026, and says the nonfinancial public sector’s primary fiscal balance is expected to strengthen to a 3.7% surplus of GDP in 2027.
That matters because lender confidence is not built on slogans. It is built on cash flow, fiscal restraint, and the boring little details that keep a country from getting squeezed by debt service. A primary fiscal balance is just the budget result before interest payments are counted. A surplus there gives the government more room to breathe, which is exactly what a country under an IMF program needs.
So, yes, El Salvador still gets to keep its Bitcoin narrative. But the IMF is making sure the narrative does not drag the public finances back into the swamp. The Fund is not blessing a sovereign Bitcoin hoard. It is tolerating donations, demanding cleaner governance, and pushing the state further out of the picture.
That is probably the least dramatic, and least stupid, version of this entire setup.
Key questions and takeaways
-
How much money did the IMF release to El Salvador?
The IMF approved an immediate disbursement of SDR 101.96 million, worth about $138 million at the Fund’s conversion rate. Bloomberg reported the figure as $139 million. -
What did the IMF say about El Salvador’s Bitcoin holdings?
The IMF said the Bitcoin accumulation since the first review came from private donations, not public resources, and that no further accumulation beyond documented donations is expected. -
Is the government still involved in Chivo?
Yes, but less than before. Majority ownership and operational control have been transferred to a private operator, while the government still has a minority stake and custodial responsibilities for customer assets. -
What does the IMF want next?
It wants stronger digital-asset oversight, better transparency around public crypto holdings, and a full unwind of the remaining state role in Chivo. -
Does this mean the IMF supports El Salvador’s Bitcoin experiment?
Not really. The IMF is tolerating a reduced version of it, but only as long as public money stays out of Bitcoin accumulation and the state keeps stepping back from direct control. -
What is the practical takeaway for El Salvador?
The country can keep receiving IMF support if it keeps tightening crypto governance, reducing public exposure, and making sure Bitcoin does not become a taxpayer-funded liability.
Further reading
A few useful background pieces on El Salvador’s Bitcoin balancing act and the IMF’s latest pressure points.
- El Salvador gets $138M after IMF waives Bitcoin rule breach
- IMF staff report on El Salvador’s program review
- IMF country report PDF for El Salvador
- IMF Executive Board concludes the second and third reviews
- Bitcoin in El Salvador
- Bloomberg on IMF approval after the Bitcoin waiver
- El Salvador’s Bitcoin Battle: IMF Clash and Chivo Wallet Crisis Unfold
- El Salvador Halts Bitcoin Buys Since February 2025 Under IMF Pressure
- El Salvador Scales Back Bitcoin Use in $1.4B IMF Loan Agreement
