The IMF mentioned to decelerate. El Salvador mentioned no. President Bukele’s authorities simply added 5 extra Bitcoins to its treasury, pushing its reserves previous 6,111 BTC — defying the very establishment that loaned it $1.4 billion simply months in the past. What’s driving this daring stance?
El Salvador defies IMF
El Salvador isn’t backing down on Bitcoin (BTC), it doesn’t matter what the Worldwide Financial Fund says.
On Mar. 10, the South American nation added 5 extra Bitcoins to its treasury, bringing its whole holdings to six,111.18 BTC, value round $509.5 million at present market costs.
The transfer comes simply months after finalizing a $1.4 billion settlement with the IMF in December 2024, a part of a broader $3.5 billion monetary bundle aimed toward stabilizing the nation’s economic system.
As a part of the deal, El Salvador agreed to a set of situations: Bitcoin’s use within the personal sector would stay voluntary, authorities involvement in crypto transactions can be scaled again, and taxes would proceed to be paid in U.S. {dollars}.
The state-backed Chivo pockets, as soon as an emblem of the nation’s Bitcoin ambitions, can be step by step phased out whereas regulatory oversight of digital belongings would tighten.
But, as a substitute of retreating, President Nayib Bukele’s administration is pushing forward. Why is the nation nonetheless accumulating Bitcoin regardless of the IMF’s reservations? And what does this defiance sign to the remainder of the world? Let’s break it down.
A relentless accumulation spree
When El Salvador shook arms with the IMF on Dec. 18, its Bitcoin holdings stood at 5,967 BTC. Since then, moderately than pausing or reversing course, the nation has amassed a further 144 BTC, pushing its whole reserve past 6,111 BTC.
Whereas its traditional apply is to amass 1 BTC per day, a sample established beneath President Bukele’s “Bitcoin DCA” (Greenback-Value Averaging) technique, there have been a number of events the place purchases exceeded this routine accumulation.
The primary such occasion got here simply two days after the IMF deal, when El Salvador bought 11 BTC on Dec. 20.
Two days later, on Dec. 22, it purchased one other 1 BTC, solely to comply with up with one other 11 BTC later that very same day — bringing its day by day whole to 12 BTC, the one largest acquisition post-IMF settlement.
This pattern continued into 2025, with notable purchases together with 11 BTC on Jan. 9, one other 12 BTC on Feb. 4, 8 BTC on Feb. 25, and 6 BTC on Mar. 4. The most recent purchase, 5 BTC on Mar. 10, reaffirmed that the nation had no intention of slowing down.
What makes this accumulation much more hanging is the backdrop in opposition to which it’s occurring.
In January, the nation’s Legislative Meeting handed a invoice aimed toward aligning with the IMF’s situations, a transfer that signalled compliance on paper. But, with regards to precise Bitcoin coverage, Bukele’s authorities has proven no hesitation in defying expectations.
Even after the IMF reiterated its stance on Mar. 3, explicitly stating that future commitments required El Salvador to “confine authorities engagement in Bitcoin-related financial actions, transactions, and purchases”, the administration responded with yet one more Bitcoin purchase simply in the future later.
Bukele himself has made it clear that El Salvador has no plans to step away from its Bitcoin experiment. On Mar. 5, the president dismissed hypothesis that the nation’s Bitcoin shopping for would stop, referencing previous critics who repeatedly predicted its collapse.
“This all stops in April.” “This all stops in June.” “This all stops in December.” Bukele wrote in a submit on X (previously Twitter). “No, it’s not stopping. If it didn’t cease when the world ostracized us and most ‘bitcoiners’ deserted us, it gained’t cease now, and it gained’t cease sooner or later.”
El Salvador’s Bitcoin wager and its ripple impact
Whether or not the world likes it or not, El Salvador’s relentless pursuit is already setting a strong precedent. One of many clearest indicators of this shift is how crypto companies at the moment are gravitating towards El Salvador.
In January, Bitfinex Derivatives secured a Digital Asset Service Supplier (DASP) license, prompting the corporate to relocate its operations from Seychelles to El Salvador.
The transfer was seen as a serious endorsement of the nation’s regulatory stance, with Bitfinex CTO Paolo Ardoino calling it a “defining second” that highlighted El Salvador’s rise as a world monetary hub.
Following its lead, Tether (USDT), the world’s largest stablecoin — additionally determined to maneuver its headquarters and subsidiaries to El Salvador after acquiring an area license.
Tether’s management, together with CEO Paolo Ardoino and COO Claudia Lagorio, has gone a step additional, buying actual property and citizenship within the nation.
And the infrastructure to help them is already in place. El Salvador’s Digital Property Securities Regulation, handed in January 2023, laid the inspiration for firms to tokenize all the pieces from debt and fairness to actual property and funding funds.
Different firms have already taken discover. Strike, the Bitcoin funds firm, selected El Salvador as its regional base in 2023.
Volcano Vitality, a Bitcoin mining challenge powered by renewable vitality, is growing a 241 MW mining farm within the nation.
In consequence, El Salvador is evolving into a novel crypto jurisdiction. In contrast to different nations which have merely legalized Bitcoin for transactions, it’s constructing a whole monetary ecosystem the place digital belongings can thrive, companies can elevate capital, and traders can have interaction in tokenized markets.
Defying the IMF: A dangerous gamble?
Defying the IMF has by no means been with out penalties. Historical past reveals that international locations difficult their situations or pursuing unbiased monetary methods usually face financial retaliation in refined however impactful methods.
Argentina, for example, repeatedly clashed with the IMF over debt restructuring and monetary insurance policies, solely to endure foreign money devaluation, capital flight, and restricted entry to international credit score markets.
Greece, throughout its debt disaster, confronted comparable fallout when it initially resisted IMF-imposed austerity measures.
Whereas the IMF hardly ever takes direct punitive motion, its affect over international monetary programs ensures that resistance comes at a worth.
The IMF’s latest assertion on Mar. 3, reaffirming Bitcoin restrictions, will not be an overt warning, but it surely indicators mounting strain.
If tensions escalate, the nation might face stricter mortgage situations, increased borrowing prices, and even funding delays. Score companies, already cautious of its Bitcoin technique, would possibly additional downgrade its credit standing, making exterior borrowing more and more costly.
There’s additionally the danger of regulatory isolation, the place worldwide companies discourage funding in El Salvador on account of its Bitcoin publicity.
But, another state of affairs is equally attainable. If El Salvador’s technique proves profitable, the impression could possibly be profound. International locations battling weak currencies, excessive inflation, or restricted entry to international monetary markets might look to Bukele’s experiment as proof {that a} parallel monetary system can work.
The stakes, nevertheless, stay excessive. El Salvador nonetheless relies on the IMF for funding, making its defiance a dangerous gamble. A protracted Bitcoin bear market or excessive volatility might place immense pressure on the federal government’s strategy.
For now, President Bukele stays unwavering, and regardless of the dangers, El Salvador’s Bitcoin-first strategy continues to attract consideration, funding, and companies.
