The decision keeps the country’s international funding arrangement on track while placing clearer limits on how the state can participate in the digital asset economy. The IMF said the waivers were supported by corrective measures and renewed commitments from Salvadoran authorities.
The approval is significant because it shows how the lender is managing El Salvador’s Bitcoin experiment without demanding that the country abandon it altogether. Instead, the program is pushing the government toward a narrower role, greater disclosure and stronger separation between public finances and crypto activity.
The IMF’s 40-month program requires El Salvador to address fiscal and financial risks associated with its Bitcoin policy. The government adopted Bitcoin as legal tender in 2021 and created the Chivo wallet to support payments and public access to the asset. Since then, the initiative has remained closely identified with President Nayib Bukele’s administration, even as adoption and the policy’s public cost have attracted scrutiny.
Waivers tied to Bitcoin accumulation
The most immediate issue was whether El Salvador had complied with commitments related to its Bitcoin holdings. The IMF said the government had missed certain performance criteria, but granted waivers after reviewing corrective actions and receiving renewed assurances.
Documents provided by Salvadoran authorities indicated that Bitcoin accumulated after the first review came from private donations rather than purchases financed with public resources, according to the IMF. That explanation is central to the government’s effort to distinguish continued Bitcoin holdings from a fresh expansion of state-funded exposure.
The issue became more important after El Salvador disclosed the acquisition of 1,090 BTC worth about $100 million in November 2025. The disclosure raised questions about whether the purchases conflicted with the terms of the IMF program. The lender’s latest language suggests that the source of the assets, and the distinction between donations and public spending, will remain essential to future compliance assessments.
Crucially, the IMF said no further Bitcoin accumulation is envisaged beyond documented donations. That does not eliminate the country’s Bitcoin framework, but it sharply reduces the scope for government-directed purchases. It also establishes a reporting standard. Any new additions to public-sector crypto holdings will need to be traceable and supported by evidence that they did not rely on public resources.
Chivo’s changing role
The IMF also cited progress in transferring majority ownership and operational control of the Chivo Bitcoin wallet to a private operator. The move could reshape the government’s role in the system, shifting it from direct operator toward regulator and overseer.
That distinction matters because a privately operated wallet may reduce the state’s operational exposure to technical, financial and adoption risks. It could also create stronger incentives to improve the product, lower costs and build payment services that users and businesses voluntarily choose. Yet privatization alone will not resolve questions about governance, consumer protection or transparency.
The IMF is calling for stronger crypto-asset regulation and governance, along with clearer information about public-sector crypto holdings. Those requirements focus attention on the infrastructure around Bitcoin, rather than only on the asset’s market value. For businesses, developers and payment providers, predictable rules may prove more important than official enthusiasm for cryptocurrency.
A narrower experiment
The agreement leaves Bukele’s administration with a political victory of sorts. The government can say that Bitcoin remains part of its national strategy and that international lenders have not forced it to reverse course. However, the program also formalizes boundaries that make the experiment less expansive than it once appeared.
El Salvador will need to show that crypto activity does not undermine fiscal discipline, financial stability or the integrity of its payments system. Private donations may explain some holdings, but they are not necessarily a durable foundation for national policy. The government must still disclose assets, explain governance arrangements and demonstrate that public funds are protected.
The IMF’s decision therefore marks less a rejection of Bitcoin than an attempt to place it inside conventional financial controls. El Salvador’s next phase will depend on whether its crypto infrastructure can deliver practical value, attract sustained users and operate transparently while the state steps back from direct participation.
- Carol M. Highsmith · Public domain
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Read and checked by admin on 10/5/2026
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