On June 16, despite an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in December 2024 to stop acquiring Bitcoin, El Salvador continues to purchase Bitcoin daily.
El Salvador is the first country in the world to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender. According to data from the El Salvador Bitcoin Office, since December 19, 2024 (after the IMF agreement was announced), the country has bought 240 more Bitcoins, bringing the government's treasury wallet total to 6,209 Bitcoins (currently priced at approximately $106,658 per Bitcoin).
In December 2024, El Salvador reached a $1.4 billion loan agreement with the IMF, which included a clause requiring the country to relinquish Bitcoin's status as legal tender and halt government-led Bitcoin purchases.
However, the country has continued to execute its daily purchase plan since President Nayib Bukele proposed the "one Bitcoin a day" strategy in 2022. When asked about this, Rodrigo Valdes, Director of the IMF's Western Hemisphere Department, stated at a press conference on April 26, 2025, that the country is technically still complying with the agreement: "El Salvador remains committed to not increasing its Bitcoin holdings across the entire fiscal sector."
Some argue that the IMF agreement's "flexible interpretation" of the "no further acquisition" clause is key to El Salvador's continued Bitcoin purchases.
