IMF staff said, based on documents submitted by the Salvadoran authorities, that the increase in bitcoin holdings since the first review on June 27, 2025, came from private donations and that no public funds had been used. The IMF disclosed this on September 3 (local time) when announcing a staff-level agreement on the second and third reviews of El Salvador’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement.
The IMF-supported program includes measures to limit public-sector bitcoin-related activities and purchases and to reduce government involvement in the Chivo digital wallet. In this announcement, the IMF said it expected no further bitcoin accumulation beyond the documented donations.
Public-sector involvement in Chivo has also been substantially reduced. A majority stake and operational control were transferred to a private operator, but the government retained a minority stake and responsibility for the custody of customer assets. The two sides also agreed on measures to improve the legal, regulatory, and supervisory framework for digital assets and strengthen governance and risk management of public-sector cryptoasset holdings.
If the IMF Executive Board approves the agreement and the prior actions are completed, El Salvador could receive approximately $140 million in additional financing. The agreement remains at the staff level, and disbursement has not been confirmed. The press release did not disclose the donors, the size of the donations, the name of Chivo’s private operator, or the original documents submitted by the authorities.