The International Monetary Fund has approved an immediate $138 million disbursement to El Salvador under its $1.4 billion Extended Fund Facility, even after the country missed performance criteria tied to Bitcoin accumulation. The IMF Executive Board completed the second and third reviews of the 40-month financing arrangement on Oct. 1 and granted waivers, citing corrective measures and renewed commitments from Salvadoran authorities.
The decision keeps the broader program on track. Alongside the Bitcoin-related waivers, the IMF said El Salvador strengthened reserve and liquidity buffers and advanced reforms in financial sector oversight, fiscal transparency, and anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist-financing controls.
Bitcoin remains the most closely watched part of the program. The IMF now attributes increases in El Salvador’s reported Bitcoin holdings since June 2025 to documented private donations rather than public purchases. That clarification became important after the government in November 2025 described an addition of roughly 1,090 BTC as a purchase worth about $100 million. The lender expects no further Bitcoin accumulation beyond those documented donations and is pressing for stronger regulation, governance, and transparency around public-sector crypto holdings.
Authorities have also transferred majority ownership and operational control of the state-created Chivo wallet to a private operator. The government retains a minority stake and custodial responsibilities, but the IMF wants the remaining public-sector exposure fully unwound. Future reviews will test whether donations stop adding to public holdings and whether crypto assets become more transparent on El Salvador’s sovereign balance sheet.
