El Salvador has secured an immediate $138 million disbursement from the International Monetary Fund after the lender granted waivers for missed performance criteria linked to the country's Bitcoin accumulation.

The IMF Executive Board completed the second and third reviews of El Salvador's 40-month Extended Fund Facility on Thursday, allowing the funds to be released under the country's $1.4 billion financing programme. Performance criteria are the measurable policy targets each review is judged against, and waivers are the mechanism that lets financing continue when targets are missed, provided corrective steps are taken — the basis the Fund cited here.

Waivers Granted on Bitcoin Criteria

The Fund said some performance criteria had not been met, including those relating to Bitcoin accumulation, but granted waivers based on what it described as "strong corrective measures and renewed commitments."

Under the IMF programme, El Salvador has been required to limit the state's exposure to Bitcoin and to prevent public resources from being used to accumulate the cryptocurrency. Documentation provided by Salvadoran authorities showed that Bitcoin accumulated since the programme's first review came from private donations and did not involve public resources, according to the IMF, which added that no further accumulation is expected beyond the documented donations — a statement that now serves as the compliance benchmark for future reviews of the facility.

The Fund said El Salvador had also made progress on financial-sector reforms, transparency, and anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing measures.

Chivo Wallet Moved to Private Hands

A key development in the review period was the transfer of majority ownership and operational control of the government's Chivo e-wallet to a private operator. The government retains a minority stake, along with custodial responsibilities for customer assets. The wallet was launched by the state in 2021 to support the rollout of Bitcoin as legal tender, and its move into private hands speaks directly to the programme's central demand that the state scale back its role in crypto.

Looking ahead, the IMF said the programme would continue to focus on reducing the state's involvement in Bitcoin-related activities, strengthening crypto-asset regulation and governance, and improving transparency around public-sector crypto holdings.

"The state's involvement in Bitcoin-related activities is being unwound while related regulations are enhanced," the IMF said.

Background on El Salvador's Bitcoin Policy

El Salvador became the first country in the world to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender in 2021 under President Nayib Bukele, with the Bitcoin Law taking effect that September and making the cryptocurrency usable alongside the US dollar. Its Bitcoin policy has remained a key issue in negotiations with the IMF, which approved the country's current 40-month, $1.4 billion financing programme in February 2025. The programme came with conditions on fiscal consolidation and financial-sector governance, which the reviews assess through performance criteria — making the country's state-level Bitcoin experiment directly tied to its access to international financing.

The latest review also cited stronger-than-expected economic activity, progress on fiscal consolidation, and improved liquidity and reserve buffers. The IMF said continued implementation of reforms would be necessary to strengthen fiscal sustainability, financial resilience, and governance. With the second and third reviews now complete, subsequent assessments under the 40-month arrangement will show whether the state's Bitcoin unwind and the broader reform agenda stay on track.

Source: BitcoinKE