El Salvador's national Bitcoin reserve has climbed to 7,798 BTC despite the International Monetary Fund formally recording missed Bitcoin-related performance criteria under its $1.4 billion Extended Fund Facility. The IMF completed the second and third reviews on October 1, 2026, and released $138 million after granting waivers for unobserved targets tied to Bitcoin accumulation.
One week later, on October 8, El Salvador's Bitcoin Office reported a reserve of 7,798 BTC, seven coins more than a week earlier and worth roughly $640 million to $645 million. Salvadoran authorities say the new coins came from private donations rather than public purchases. The IMF stated that the program separates holding existing Bitcoin, buying more with public resources, and receiving coins from private donors; only state-funded buying is restricted.
According to the Fund, documentation supplied by Salvadoran officials since the first review in June 2025 attributes additions to private donations. The reserve has grown by about 1,728 BTC, or 28.5%, from an early-2025 IMF program documentation figure of 6,070 BTC. The Bitcoin Office tracker still moves at roughly one coin per day, the pace President Nayib Bukele set when announcing a one-Bitcoin-per-day policy.
The IMF also wants El Salvador to unwind its remaining public exposure to Chivo, the government-backed wallet launched in 2021, after majority ownership and operational control passed to a private operator. It called for fuller reporting of public-sector crypto holdings and tighter supervision of digital asset providers, and it asked for possible amendments to the Digital Asset Issuance Law.
El Salvador's economy grew 3.9% in 2025, with 4.5% projected for 2026, but public debt remains close to 85% of GDP and is projected to reach 89.2% in 2027. The Bitcoin reserve equals about 12% of gross international reserves projected for 2026, making it significant for a lender focused on fiscal consolidation.
Separately, U.S. government-linked wallets moved 12,267 BTC worth about $1.01 billion from the Bitfinex hack seizure to a new, unlabeled address on Thursday at 9:33 a.m. ET, according to Arkham. The transfer followed Wednesday flows of roughly $119 million in USDT and about 2,574 BTC to Coinbase Prime. Because Coinbase Prime offers custody, the deposits do not confirm a sale.
The Bitcoin is part of roughly 94,000 BTC seized in 2022 from Ilya Lichtenstein, who orchestrated the 2016 Bitfinex hack, and his wife Heather Morgan. Under a March 2025 executive order, forfeited Bitcoin is directed into a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve that is not intended to be sold. The U.S. government still holds about 306,795 BTC worth roughly $24.85 billion with Bitcoin trading near $81,000.
