IMF claims El Salvador isn’t buying bitcoin despite Bukele’s boasts
The IMF has revealed El Salvador isn’t buying more bitcoin (BTC) despite claims from its BTC office, but rather topping up its holdings with BTC from various other government wallets.
That’s according to a footnote in the IMF’s review of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) that states, “Increases in Bitcoin holdings in the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Fund reflect the consolidation of Bitcoin across various government-owned wallets.”
The IMF’s “Extended Fund Facility” gave El Salvador a $1.4 billion loan and was approved last February. Loan conditions stipulated that El Salvador’s government, run by the tyrannical bitcoin maximalist Nayib Bukele, should wind down its BTC buying operations.
Read more: IMF wants to doxx Chivo wallets, BTC balances of El Salvador state users
However, El Salvador’s National Bitcoin Office has repeatedly claimed it has been buying BTC for several months, going against the IMF’s BTC criteria. Nayib Bukele has also been reposting reports from the Bitcoin office that brag about the growing price of the country’s BTC holdings.
However, the IMF’s report states, “The overall stock of Bitcoin held by the public sector has remained unchanged since program approval.”
It’s not the first time the government of El Salvador hasn’t been entirely honest about its bitcoin reporting after a bitcoin tracker Nayib Bukele used to proclaim his holdings were back in the “black” was found to be double-counting the government’s bitcoin purchases.
IMF wants El Salvador’s public Chivo bitcoin wallet shut by July 31
The report also found “minor and short-lived” instances after the program’s approval where BTC holdings of Chivo users decreased while Chivo didn’t sell the corresponding amount of BTC. This has since been addressed.
It added that the goal to end public participation in the Chivo wallet by the end of July remains unchanged.
Read more: El Salvador gets its bitcoin from Bitfinex, raising control concerns
Despite all this, the report was overall positive and noted that ”Program performance has been solid, with the economy continuing to expand as macroeconomic imbalances are being addressed.”
As such, it ordered the immediate disbursement of SDR 86.16 million, roughly $118 million, as part of the loan program. A total of $231 million has been distributed so far.
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