Since the Salvador hoisted the orange flag in 2021 by adopting bitcoin as a legal currency, the country has continued to defray the chronicle. Between the messianic vision of President Nayib Bukele and international fascination, the story seemed clear: every day, Salvador bought A BTC. However, the curtain has just fallen. An official IMF report, accompanied by a letter signed by the highest financial officials in the country, says black on white: no purchase of Bitcoin since February 2025.
In short
- Salvador has not bought Bitcoin since February 2025, according to a IMF report.
- The movements observed are consolidations, no new purchases.
- This revelation contradicts the statements of President Bukele and his Bitcoin Office.
Daily bitcoin fiction: drinking bukele
Since November 2022, President Bukele, through his highly publicized Bitcoin Officeproudly announced the daily purchase of a bitcoin. This initiative, seen as a nose to international financial institutions, was also a powerful narrative tool: that of the country that resists and invests in the future.
But the story crumbles. According to The published document On July 15 as part of the IMF compliance report, the Bitcoins stock owned by the public sector has been unchanged since February.
The officials: President of the Central Bank Douglas Pablo Rodríguez Fuentes and the Minister of Finance Jerson Rogelio Poseada Molina, claim that the portfolios, hot and cold, were fully transmitted to the IMF for verification. Translation: everything is traceable, verified, and the figures do not lie.
It is a spectacular reversal, because he contradicts the claims of the president himself, who swore never to stop buying BTC, even at the cost of tension with the IMF.
Consolidation, not accumulation: the vague strategy of Salvador
While the observers expected regular purchases, the movements identified on the blockchain especially show portfolio consolidations. The RMI report specifies:
The increase in bitcoin assets of the Bitcoins Strategic Reserve Fund reflects the consolidation of bitcoins in various public portfolios.
This means that the Salvadoral government only moved the funds already in its possession, probably to better secure or organize them.
The image of an accumulative state dissipates. Worse, if the official declarations aimed to give an impression of consistency, they now flirt dangerously with political disinformation.
Bitcoin and realpolitik: Salvador seeks balance
What is played out here goes beyond the simple management of a crypto portfolio. Salvador is faced with a major strategic tension : meet the requirements of transparency and prudence of the IMF while cultivating its avant-garde image in the crypto universe.
Bukele administration seems to want juggish : the reassuring that of the good student of the IMF, and that, flamboyant, of the Bitcoin pioneer. The problem ? To want to play on both tables too much, credibility is crumbling.
The IMF, for its part, remains pragmatic. He recognizes that the consolidation of the BTC does not contravene the terms of funding. But this polished neutrality does not erase the underlying tension: that of a country which wants to free itself while remaining dependent.
Has Salvador really turned the Bitcoin page, or is it simply a tactical adjustment to preserve vital financial support? Difficult to decide. One thing is certain: the story of storytelling around Bitcoin daily purchases seems to be over. Fortunately, this does not share the course of Bitcoin, which continues its imperturbable trajectory.
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