IMF wants to doxx Chivo wallets, BTC balances of El Salvador state users
President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador needed more than bitcoin (BTC) to keep his administration afloat and has agreed to difficult loan terms from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Financial disclosure terms of the new 40-month, $1.4 billion extended fund facility arrangement require the doxxing of wallet addresses and BTC holdings of all legal persons controlled by the state, including Chivo users in the government.
These name- and wealth-sharing disclosures compound already strict conditions that the IMF levied on the country as part of its $1.4 billion loan facility.
Bitcoin is already revoked from the country’s legal definition of currency. Now, the lending giant is forcing El Salvador to take another step backward in its use of BTC by doxxing legal persons controlled by the state who own the crypto. Bukele has already agreed to shutter the Chivo service entirely.
The IMF believes that these conditions will reduce the risks related to El Salvador’s exposure to BTC’s volatility and pseudonymity.
On its best behavior to pass performance reviews
Still, Bukele’s administration hasn’t received the full $1.4 billion. Instead, the IMF has scheduled a series of milestones to ensure that El Salvador is adhering to its terms. As the country passes each review, it will receive a successive disbursement of funds.
The first release of funds is set at $200 million valued in special drawing rights (SDRs) and is tied to a milestone review at the end of March.
Read more: IMF approves El Salvador’s $1.4B loan but imposes bitcoin restrictions
Chivo failed since launch but it’s still useful for doxxing
Chivo’s debut in El Salvador was highly contentious and coincided with a 30,000% increase in a pink sheet-listed company, Athena Bitcoin Global. Shares of Athena hit a high of $46.50 during the initial announcement of Chivo, yet currently trade at just five cents.
The company’s account opening bonus also incentivized identity theft while its hacked ATM network struggled to remain reliably online for months. By the end of the year, it will shut down altogether.
Press workers in Bukele’s administration have attempted to distract from the roll-back of BTC to avoid embarrassment at the scuttling of once-grand plans. Official social media accounts that used to promote BTC investments, cities, mines, social programs, and capital projects now tout El Salvador’s firework-framed celebrations, expat-targeted real estate offerings, high-security prisons, and supposed gold holdings.
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