IMF Forces El Salvador to Dismantle Bitcoin Trust & Accept Stricter Oversight

• The $1.4 billion IMF loan deal requires El Salvador to dissolve the Fidebitcoin trust and disclose audited financial statements for both platforms.
• The government must also reveal public BTC holdings, including wallet details, with compliance reviews scheduled throughout 2025.

After securing the $1.4 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Bitcoin-friendly nation of El Salvador is facing the pressure of financial oversight, particularly related to the country’s BTC holdings.

As per the recent agreement between El Salvador and the IMF, the Nayib Bukele government will have to implement public participation in the Chivo wallet, a state-sponsored BTC wallet. The agreement also requires that the government stop using taxpayer funds in Chivo by July 2025. Last month, El Salvador had to end Bitcoin’s legal tender status as the IMF cited financial stability concerns, as highlighted in our previous article.

Additionally, the Latin American country needs to dissolve the Fidebitcoin trust, initially created to support Bitcoin adoption, and release audited financial statements for both Fidebitcoin and the Chivo wallet.

Furthermore, to enhance transparency, the government should disclose all BTC holdings from public institutions. This includes submitting a detailed list of cold and hot wallet addresses, along with the exact amounts held, to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In order to monitor this progress, IMF has scheduled compliance reviews for March, June, July, and December 2025.

IMF has stated that these measures are part of necessary risk management as the global body increases scrutiny on El Salvador’s bold experiment to integrate Bitcoin as part of the country’s financial system.

Demand for Greater Transparency in El Salvador’s $1.4 Billion IMF Deal

Despite the IMF’s calling for enhanced financial accountability, the $1.4 billion loan agreement lacks clear provisions for allocating and monitoring the funds. Several critics have also pointed out a drop in transparency under President Nayib Bukele’s administration.

After taking the office back in 2019, Bukele has systematically weakened the country’s transparency framework, including altering laws to limit public access to information on government spending, asset declarations, and even the identities of legislative advisors.

The IMF has stated that the loan is a step towards improving the governance and fiscal discipline. However, the lack of oversight mechanisms has raised doubts about the effectiveness of these measures in practice.

Despite IMF asking El Salvador to cut down on its Bitcoin purchases, the Latin American nation has continued adding the asset. Last month itself, El Salvador added 21 Bitcoins for an investment value of $1.1 million, taking its total BTC holdings to 6,067 BTC worth around $600 million approximately, as highlighted in our previous article.

One thing that could give some relief to El Salvador would be the United States considering a strategic Bitcoin reserve, as mentioned in our news story. If President Trump’s recent executive order gets Congressional approval, it could pave the way for other countries to adopt Bitcoin.