IMF Now Says Donations Funded El Salvador's Bitcoin Growth

In brief

• IMF staff reached a preliminary agreement on El Salvador's combined second and third program reviews, unlocking about $140 million if the board approves.
• Documentation showed the Bitcoin added since June 2025 came from private donations, with no public money spent, the IMF said.
• As recently as last week, El Salvador's Bitcoin Office claimed that it had "bought" BTC.

Private donations account for the Bitcoin El Salvador has added to its national reserve since mid-2025, the International Monetary Fund said on Thursday, announcing a staff-level agreement on the country's combined second and third program reviews.

Documentation supplied by Salvadoran authorities verified that the accumulation since the first review "reflects private donations and that no public resources were used," the fund said. It expects no further additions beyond those documented donations.

$81.8k$80.7k$79.6k$78.5k

24h HighHigh$82,108

24h LowLow$78,446

VolVol$1.9B

Market projectionsOdds by Myriad

The IMF's account differs from one the fund gave a year ago. In September 2025, an IMF communications officer told Decrypt that the total quantity of government-owned Bitcoin had not increased at all, and that growth in El Salvador's Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Fund reflected coins moving between wallets the state already controlled.