El Salvador Plans to Stop Using Public Funds to Buy More Bitcoin, Chivo Wallet to Mostly Exit Public Participation

BlockBeats News, September 4th, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced that it has reached a staff-level agreement with the Salvadoran authorities on the second and third combined reviews under the Extended Fund Facility arrangement. If approved by the IMF Executive Board, El Salvador will receive around $140 million (101.96 million SDR).

Regarding the Bitcoin-related arrangements, the IMF confirmed several key facts: the Chivo digital wallet has largely exited public participation, with majority ownership and operational control transferred to a private operator; the Bitcoin holdings since the first review have been verified through documentation to come from private donations and not from unused public resources; El Salvador has committed that there will be no further Bitcoin purchases in the future, apart from documented private donations.

The parties have also reached understandings on the modernization of the legal, regulatory, and supervisory framework for digital assets, as well as governance and risk management arrangements to strengthen the public sector's cryptocurrency holdings. Structural reforms such as pension reform, civil service reform, strengthening central bank institutions and financial position, and enhancing the AML/CFT framework will continue to be advanced. The IMF emphasized that robust ownership of the program and timely implementation of reforms are still crucial for further enhancing macroeconomic stability and resilience, creating sustainable and inclusive conditions for private-sector-led growth.