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Yes: on October 1, 2026, the IMF Executive Board completed El Salvador’s combined second and third reviews under its 40-month lending programme, while the country continued to report Bitcoin holdings. But this was not an IMF endorsement of unrestricted Bitcoin buying, and the IMF did not value the holdings at $666 million. It granted waivers for missed Bitcoin-accumulation criteria and said no further accumulation is expected beyond documented donations.
What the IMF decided
The IMF Executive Board completed the combined second and third reviews of El Salvador’s 40-month Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement on October 1, 2026. Completion enabled an immediate disbursement of SDR 101.96 million, about US$138 million. The programme’s total access is SDR 1,033.92 million, about US$1.4 billion; the arrangement was approved on February 26, 2025. IMF, October 1, 2026
The Bitcoin-related result was qualified, not a clean pass. The IMF said certain performance criteria on Bitcoin accumulation were not met. It granted waivers based on corrective measures and renewed commitments. The review therefore allowed the programme to proceed, but it did not amount to approval for an unrestricted accumulation policy.
What “no further accumulation” means
The October 1 Executive Board release says, “No further Bitcoin accumulation is expected beyond documented donations.” That is the IMF’s stated programme expectation, not a claim that the country has stopped holding Bitcoin.
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In a September 3 staff-level statement, the IMF said documentation showed that post-first-review accumulation came from private donations and used no public resources. That statement preceded the final Board decision. The cited IMF statements do not identify the donors or establish the coin-by-coin provenance of every holding, so the funding explanation should be understood as the IMF’s account rather than independent verification of each donation. IMF, September 3, 2026
How much Bitcoin is reported, and what is it worth?
Maketo’s tracker lists 7,792.374 BTC as the government-published total on October 1, 2026. It estimates the holdings at US$658.5 million using a Bitcoin price of US$84,505 on October 2. The coin count and dollar estimate are distinct claims: the BTC figure is a reported balance, while the USD figure is a mark-to-market estimate tied to that price and date. It is not an IMF valuation or a disclosed government acquisition cost. Maketo tracker
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The title’s $666 million figure should not be read as a value certified by the IMF. The IMF’s October review release does not state a dollar value for the holdings, and a different Bitcoin price or valuation time changes the estimate.
Chivo and the Bitcoin holdings are separate issues
The IMF says majority ownership and control of the Chivo e-wallet transferred to a private operator, with residual public exposure still to be unwound. That concerns the wallet’s ownership and operation; it does not establish that the government’s Bitcoin holdings were transferred with it.
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The IMF separately calls for transparent reporting of public-sector crypto holdings and stronger regulation, supervision, and governance of crypto-asset providers. Its Executive Board release also describes the policy direction this way: “The state’s involvement in Bitcoin-related activities is being unwound while related regulations are enhanced.” IMF, October 1, 2026
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Historical context: earlier holdings and adoption figures
The IMF’s original EFF report in 2025 described 6,070 BTC, around 2 percent of GDP, managed by the Bitcoin Management Agency. That is a historical figure, not the current reported balance. The same report cited survey findings from Bitcoin’s adoption peak: 20 percent of firms accepted Bitcoin, and 4.9 percent of sales were paid in Bitcoin. Those figures describe that earlier period and are not current usage estimates. IMF, February 2025 programme report
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