El Salvador's government announced the acquisition of 8 Bitcoin (BTC) on July 24, 2025, valued at $948,392, bringing its publicly reported holdings to 6,248 BTC ($740 million). This directly contradicts the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) assertion that the country has not made new purchases since agreeing to a loan requiring Bitcoin accumulation to halt. The IMF claims recent wallet activity involves internal transfers rather than new acquisitions, with Bitcoin Office disclosures allegedly misrepresenting reshuffled coins as fresh purchases.
John Dennehy of 'My First Bitcoin' education project corroborated the IMF's stance, labeling the transfers as "misleading" since they don't increase total reserves. Despite no official response to these allegations, El Salvador continues promoting Bitcoin literacy through programs like Node Nation and ESIAP, training 80,000 civil servants.
Simultaneously, NGO My First Bitcoin reports adoption has stalled under IMF pressure. General Manager Quentin Ehrenmann confirmed Bitcoin "is no longer legal tender" post-IMF deal, with public education initiatives abandoned. January 2025 legislation rolled back public-sector crypto involvement, including plans to privatize the Chivo wallet and cease government funding for it.
Blockchain analysts note daily 1 BTC transfers to government-linked wallets, though the origin (official purchases vs. private transactions) remains unclear. This occurs amid broader institutional accumulation, with Japan's Metaplanet adding 797 BTC ($93.6M) and European firms acquiring 340+ BTC collectively.