IMF: Will "Continue Efforts" to Ensure El Salvador Does Not Increase Bitcoin Holdings

According to a report by Jinse Finance, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) stated on Tuesday that it "will continue to work" to ensure that the total amount of Bitcoin held by the Salvadoran government remains unchanged. In March, El Salvador reached a $3.5 billion loan agreement with the IMF, one of the conditions of which was to "prohibit the voluntary accumulation of Bitcoin by the public sector." Under the agreement, Bitcoin was stripped of its legal tender status, and merchants were no longer forced to accept it. However, despite the agreement's clear restrictions on increasing holdings, the Bitcoin holdings have risen from 6,101.15 to 6,189.18, valued at approximately $678 million. President Bukele once stated, "We will not stop. If we didn't stop when the whole world rejected us and most 'Bitcoiners' abandoned us, we won't stop now or in the future." Although El Salvador seems to have violated the loan agreement conditions with the IMF regarding Bitcoin accumulation, the IMF still considers the overall execution of the loan program to be "performing well" in its report.