El Salvador Receives $138 Million From IMF After Meeting Waiver Terms on Bitcoin

El Salvador has received $138 million from the International Monetary Fund after the lender approved a waiver despite the country falling short of some Bitcoin-related program conditions.

Cointelegraph reported on October 4 that the IMF’s Executive Board completed the second and third reviews of El Salvador’s 40-month Extended Fund Facility program and approved an immediate disbursement. Total support under the program amounts to $1.4 billion.

The IMF said it granted the waiver even though some performance criteria, including a prohibition on additional Bitcoin purchases, had not been met. It cited “strong corrective actions” and new policy commitments. The fund added that the review found progress in financial-sector reform, fiscal transparency, and anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing reforms.

In a statement, the IMF said El Salvador would continue efforts to scale back public-sector involvement in Bitcoin-related activities, strengthen virtual-asset regulation and governance, and improve transparency around public-sector virtual-asset holdings. It added that no further Bitcoin purchases were planned beyond recorded donations.

Questions about compliance with the IMF program had emerged after El Salvador said earlier that it had acquired 1,090 Bitcoin in November 2025, worth about $100 million at the time. After reviewing documents submitted by Salvadoran authorities, the IMF confirmed the Bitcoin had been obtained through private donations and that no government funds were used.

The IMF also said that, in the case of the Chivo wallet, operational control and majority ownership had been transferred to a private operator, while the government retained a minority stake and custodial responsibility.