{"id":5439,"date":"2025-07-22T16:15:04","date_gmt":"2025-07-22T16:15:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/el-salvadors-daily-bitcoin-claims-crumble-under-imf-scrutiny\/"},"modified":"2025-07-22T16:15:17","modified_gmt":"2025-07-22T16:15:17","slug":"el-salvadors-daily-bitcoin-claims-crumble-under-imf-scrutiny","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/el-salvadors-daily-bitcoin-claims-crumble-under-imf-scrutiny\/","title":{"rendered":"El Salvador\u2019s \u2018Daily Bitcoin\u2019 claims crumble under IMF scrutiny"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"post-detail__content blocks\">\n<p class=\"is-style-lead\">An International Monetary Fund (IMF) review released on July 15, claims that El Salvador ceased accumulating bitcoins in February, following the signing of the deal with the IMF. The agreement required El Salvador to stop BTC accumulation and strip BTC of its legal tender status in exchange for a $1.4 billion loan. This information strikingly contradicts claims by El Salvador officials who had been regularly announcing new BTC purchases by the country. Concerns over the accuracy of El Salvador\u2019s Bitcoin reserves date back to 2023.<\/p>\n<div id=\"cn-block-summary-block_886ab2b647dfa3ee927ca7b8a300da0c\" class=\"cn-block-summary\">\n<div class=\"cn-block-summary__nav tabs\">\n        <span class=\"tabs__item is-selected\">Summary<\/span>\n    <\/div>\n<div class=\"cn-block-summary__content\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>El Salvador claims it continues buying 1 BTC every day despite the February deal with the IMF that forbids the country from doing so\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>According to the IMF, El Salvador\u2019s claims about Bitcoin purchases refer to moving bitcoins between the wallets controlled by the government, not actual accumulation<\/li>\n<li>The stopping of BTC accumulation is confirmed by El Salvador\u2019s Financial Minister and by the president of the country\u2019s Central Bank<\/li>\n<li>Several crypto enthusiasts claim that the amount of BTC El Salvador claims to hold is misleading. BBC and crypto sleuths pointed at discrepancies back in 2023<\/li>\n<li>The creator of the website used by President Bukele to demonstrate BTC reserve growth called the data displayed on the screenshots \u201cwrong\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- .cn-block-summary --><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Revelation from IMF review<\/h2>\n<p>Despite arranging the deal with the IMF, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele continued highlighting the country\u2019s new purchases of Bitcoin. The first EFF arrangement review, released this July, contains information that disputes these claims.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In the letter attached in the appendix of <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.elibrary.imf.org\/view\/journals\/002\/2025\/190\/002.2025.issue-190-en.xml?cid=568621-com-dsp-crossref\" rel=\"nofollow\">the review<\/a>, the President of El Salvador Central Bank, Douglas Pablo Rodr\u00edguez Fuentes, and the Minister of Finance, Jerson Rogelio Posada Molina claim that \u201cthe stock of Bitcoins held by the public sector remains unchanged\u201d while mentioning minor breaches of the deal in regard of daily Bitcoin accumulation in March.<\/p>\n<p>On top of that, there is a small but essential detail hidden in footnote nine that reads \u201cIncreases in Bitcoin holdings in the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Fund reflect the consolidation of Bitcoin across various government-owned wallets.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It means that El Salvador stopped Bitcoin purchases in February 2025, which is in line with the deal made with the IMF. The IMF\u2019s review outlines positive trends in the El Salvador economy, concluding that the IMF should immediately disburse SDR 86.16 million, equivalent to approximately $118 million. The overall satisfaction of the fund\u2019s board indicates that El Salvador has indeed dropped its support for Bitcoin, not only as a legal tender, but also as a strategic reserve worth accumulating, opting instead for a USD loan from the IMF.<\/p>\n<p>    <!-- .cn-block-related-link --><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">El Salvador\u2019s BTC purchases after deal with IMF<\/h2>\n<p>The deal with the IMF required El Salvador not only to revoke Bitcoin\u2019s status as legal tender but also to stop accumulating bitcoins (according to the IMF, it creates economic risks). However, instead of following the imposed rules, the country continued the daily BTC purchasing spree.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In March, the IMF reminded Bukele that Bitcoin purchases should be halted to meet the requirements outlined in the deal; however, he blatantly rejected the IMF\u2019s requests and stated that Bitcoin accumulation would not stop.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\u201cThis all stops in April.\u201d \u201cThis all stops in June.\u201d \u201cThis all stops in December.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>No, it\u2019s not stopping.<\/p>\n<p>If it didn\u2019t stop when the world ostracized us and most \u201cbitcoiners\u201d abandoned us, it won\u2019t stop now, and it won\u2019t stop in the future.<\/p>\n<p>Proof of work &gt; proof of whining <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/9pC0PoY3YQ\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/t.co\/9pC0PoY3YQ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/nayibbukele\/status\/1897019629702410551?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">March 4, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>In the April interview with Bloomberg, economy minister of El Salvador, Maria Luisa Hayem, confirmed that Bukele <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2025-04-29\/el-salvador-says-its-still-buying-bitcoin-after-inking-imf-loan\" rel=\"nofollow\">is not stopping<\/a> purchasing bitcoins, calling Bitcoin \u201can important project.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Concerns raised by crypto community members and journalists<\/h2>\n<p>The IMF\u2019s review suggests that Salvador didn\u2019t buy all the bitcoins it claims it bought. The lack of transparency regarding El Salvador\u2019s alleged purchases has been a concern raised multiple times by several crypto enthusiasts in the past.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">2k BTC in other wallets means they could daily stack for 5+ years and make it seem like they are buying them. By then many things in the world will change around Bitcoin and maybe they could actually buy them again. <br \/>This is speculation but until we have any real talk that&#8217;s all\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Forrest (@ForrestHODL) <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ForrestHODL\/status\/1916581961323463142?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">April 27, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>One of the crypto activists who scrutinizes all things associated with Bitcoin independently and publicly, a person using the handle Pledditor, raised their concerns back in November 2023, pointing out a discrepancy in the figures related to El Salvador\u2019s Bitcoin reserve.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">If you add up all of those buys together that they have listed, it should come out to 2,758 BTC<\/p>\n<p>But they have listed 3,134 BTC <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/WkpCiaH7Af\" target=\"_blank\">pic.twitter.com\/WkpCiaH7Af<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Pledditor (@Pledditor) <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Pledditor\/status\/1729900031187022106?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">November 29, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The BBC article released in December 2023 <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/technology-67637245\" rel=\"nofollow\">suggests<\/a> that El Salvador Bitcoin estimations are not backed by anything except for Bukele\u2019s tweets and screenshots from the website, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nayibtracker.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow\">Nayib Tracker<\/a>, whose creators didn\u2019t comment on the issue back then.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>However, on July 20, the Nayib Tracker creator, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/posts\/eliaszerrouq_my-unexpected-peculiar-achievement-in-2022-activity-7014299875257253888-1Sx4?utm_source=share&amp;utm_medium=member_desktop&amp;rcm=ACoAAChXaNAB2npkmZdiQW5RMWAOWA--3AbIplM\" rel=\"nofollow\">Elias Zerrouq<\/a>, took to X to express his surprise over the fact that President Bukele is using the wrong data and the media is not talking about it.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">As the creator of that 3rd party site I&#8217;m still surprised that was never a bigger thing. He basically copied wrong data, proudly represented it as his data and true. Zero big news outlets verified or even noted this. Weirdest anecdote I have<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Elias (@eliaszrq) <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/eliaszrq\/status\/1946844283669029196?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">July 20, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Since then, X accounts posting BTC purchase announcements began to use a different website. However, the questions persisted. On July 20, five days after the IMF and El Salvador\u2019s officials announced that the country had purchased no Bitcoin following the deal\u2019s signing, the Bitcoin Office released a post regarding yet another BTC purchase by El Salvador.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddfbEL SALVADOR JUST BOUGHT MORE BITCOIN <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/660qVLV3qe\" target=\"_blank\">pic.twitter.com\/660qVLV3qe<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 The Bitcoin Office (@bitcoinofficesv) <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/bitcoinofficesv\/status\/1946703129254236536?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">July 19, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Nayib Bukele or other top officials didn\u2019t react to the news as of July 22.<\/p>\n<p>    <!-- .cn-block-related-link --><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An International Monetary Fund (IMF) review released on July 15, claims that El Salvador ceased accumulating bitcoins in February, following the signing of the deal with the IMF. The agreement&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5440,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5439","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cryptocurrency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5439","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5439"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5439\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5441,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5439\/revisions\/5441"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5439"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5439"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5439"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}