Nayib Bukele continues to buy Bitcoins with public money, despite the IMF recommendation

In February, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reached an agreement with the government of El Salvador that resulted in the approval of a $1.4 billion fund over 40 months.

According to the IMF, the money will be used to strengthen public finances, reduce debt, and reform the pension system.

For the disbursement to be approved, the Fund requested that the Government of El Salvador limit the use and purchase of cryptocurrencies with public money.

Throughout the year, the National Bitcoin Office (ONBTC) has made several purchases of the cryptocurrency despite restrictions imposed by the IMF.

The latest purchase was made on September 7, to commemorate the 4th anniversary of the country’s adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender.

In total, the country’s reserves amount to 6,313 BTC, equivalent to approximately $707 million.

At the beginning of the year, the Legislative Assembly amended the Bitcoin Law to make this currency no longer official. Its use was relegated to exchanges between citizens or private companies, and its use went from mandatory to voluntary.

The Salvadoran government has not reported how it will use these funds in the short and medium term, and the country’s information restrictions make it more difficult to clarify how public money is used.

Even cryptocurrency advocates like Quentin Ehrenmann, director of the NGO My First Bitcoin, have stated that Bukele’s BTC policies benefit the government but not citizens.