IMF says El Salvador's growing bitcoin stash came from private donors, not the treasury
The IMF says all bitcoin El Salvador added to its official holdings since June 2025 came from unnamed private donors, not state money, clearing the way for roughly $140 million in program funding.
El Salvador did not spend public money to grow its bitcoin holdings after the first review of its International Monetary Fund loan program, the IMF said, citing documentation supplied by Salvadoran authorities. According to CoinDesk, the fund said all bitcoin added to official holdings since June 2025 came from private donations, and that no further accumulation is expected beyond those documented gifts.
The point matters because the IMF's first review had called for the public sector's bitcoin balance to stay unchanged — yet the government's official tracker kept rising. CoinDesk reports the balance now stands at 7,764.37 BTC, after a jump of more than 1,000 BTC in November and a continued intake of roughly one BTC a day. At the bitcoin price CoinDesk cited, about $80,969, that holding is worth close to $629 million. The IMF did not name the donors or say how much each gave.
The disclosure landed alongside a staff-level agreement on the combined second and third reviews of El Salvador's 40-month Extended Fund Facility. That agreement, still pending IMF board approval, would release approximately $140 million under the $1.4 billion program.
On the policy side, the government has transferred majority ownership and operational control of its Chivo crypto wallet to a private operator — whom the IMF did not identify — while keeping a minority stake and responsibility for custody of customer assets. El Salvador and IMF staff also agreed to strengthen the legal and supervisory framework for crypto and improve oversight of public-sector bitcoin.
Key facts
- All bitcoin added to official holdings since June 2025 came from private donations, no public funds used — IMF, per CoinDesk.
- Official tracker at 7,764.37 BTC, up more than 1,000 BTC in November plus ~1 BTC/day — CoinDesk.
- ~$140 million to be released on a staff-level agreement for the combined second and third reviews of the $1.4 billion, 40-month EFF, pending board approval — CoinDesk.
- Chivo wallet majority ownership and control moved to an unidentified private operator; state keeps a minority stake and custody duties — CoinDesk citing IMF.
- Bitcoin price cited at $80,969.52 — CoinDesk.
The real-world read
The "private donations" framing is the IMF relaying documentation from El Salvador — an interested party — not an independent audit, and the fund named no donor and disclosed no amount. That gap sits under an obvious tension: the first review told the public sector to stop buying, and President Nayib Bukele said in March 2024 the purchases would not stop. Donations are the mechanism that lets both statements be technically true at once. The unnamed Chivo operator is a second blank the announcement leaves open. This is one secondary report; the underlying IMF review documents and board decision are not yet public.
Opinion, and whose
No forecasts were offered on the record; the IMF's expectation that accumulation stops "beyond documented donations" is the fund's own projection, not a settled fact.
Sources
- CoinDesk (Sept. 4, 2026) — reported the IMF's confirmation, the holdings figures, the $140 million and program terms, and the Chivo transfer. Reputable secondary source; primary IMF review documents not yet published. The page also carried an unrelated "Anvil" sponsored promo, which is advertising, not part of the reporting.
This is news, not financial advice.