IMF Limits Put El Salvador’s 7,696 BTC Reserve Under Scrutiny

IMF conditions restricting public‑sector Bitcoin accumulation have prompted closer review of El Salvador’s 7,696 BTC reserve and recent social‑media claims that the government is buying one Bitcoin per day.

The public reserve stood at 7,696 BTC, about $460 million, on June 28. Bitcoin traded near $59,000–$60,000 after an almost 19% decline over 30 days, a context that has increased scrutiny of any accumulation program.

A social‑media post in late June restated that the government had been buying one BTC per day and reported more than 170 BTC purchases in 2026. Observers are examining whether visible movements in government wallets reflect new net purchases or transfers between state accounts.

The IMF’s March 2025 review set out policy changes: private‑sector acceptance of Bitcoin must be voluntary, taxes are to be paid in U.S. dollars, and the government committed to avoid net increases in public‑sector Bitcoin holdings. The program added a continuous performance criterion with a zero ceiling on voluntary public‑sector BTC accumulation and on BTC‑denominated or BTC‑indexed public debt and tokenized instruments.

IMF staff have described some past visible increases in the country’s public Bitcoin holdings as consolidations across state wallets rather than new net accumulation by the public sector. Internal transfers can change which public wallet appears to hold coins without increasing the overall public‑sector stock.

Market flows elsewhere have shifted: U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange‑traded products recorded roughly $5.94 billion in outflows over six consecutive weeks, and some corporate and institutional financing channels have shown signs of stress.

Upcoming IMF reviews, official wallet disclosures and independent balance‑sheet trackers are expected to clarify whether recent reserve movements represent net accumulation or internal accounting. Those records will be used to assess compliance with the program limits.