El Salvador’s president says the country “won’t stop” buying Bitcoin

• Nayib
  Bukele’s
  comments
  come
  days
  after
  the
  International
  Monetary
  Fund’s
  (IMF)
  new
  request
  as
  part
  of
  its
  $1.4
  billion
  loan
  deal
• The
  new
  request
  asks
  that
  there
  is
  “no
  voluntary
  accumulation
  of
  Bitcoin
  by
  the
  public
  sector”
• It
  also
  asks
  that
  there
  is
  a
  “ceiling
  of
  0”
  on
  government
  Bitcoin
  purchases

El
Salvador’s
president
has
dismissed
the
International
Monetary
Fund’s
(IMF)
new
request,
stating
that
the
country
“won’t
stop”
buying
Bitcoin.

In
a
post
on

X,
Nayib
Bukele
said:

““This
all
stops
in
April.”
“This
all
stops
in
June.”
“This
all
stops
in
December.”
No,
it’s
not
stopping.
If
it
didn’t
stop
when
the
world
ostracized
us
and
most
“bitcoiners”
abandoned
us,
it
won’t
stop
now,
and
it
won’t
stop
in
the
future.”

“This
all
stops
in
April.”
“This
all
stops
in
June.”
“This
all
stops
in
December.”

No,
it’s
not
stopping.

If
it
didn’t
stop
when
the
world
ostracized
us
and
most
“bitcoiners”
abandoned
us,
it
won’t
stop
now,
and
it
won’t
stop
in
the
future.

Proof
of
work
>
proof
of
whining

https://t.co/9pC0PoY3YQ

—
Nayib
Bukele
(@nayibbukele)

March
4,
2025

His
remarks
come
days
after
the
IMF
issued
a
new
request
to

El
Salvador
as
part
of
its
$1.4
billion
loan
deal
with
the
IMF.

Michael
Saylor,
Strategy’s
CEO,
responded
by

saying:
“Bitcoin
adoption
is
unstoppable.”

El
Salvador
currently
holds
6,101.18
Bitcoin
at
a
value
of
over
$527
million.

Additional
requests

The
new
rules
as
set
out
in
the
IMF’s

Country
Reports
2025,
state
that
there
will
be
“no
voluntary
accumulation
of
Bitcoin
by
the
public
sector,”
adding:

“Voluntary
accumulation
of
bitcoins
includes
purchase
and
mining
of
Bitcoins
and
excludes
the
accumulation
of
Bitcoins
resulting
from
forfeiture,
seizure,
apprehension,
custody
or
other
form
of
property
or
possession
by
the
government
arising
from
law
enforcement
measures
adopted
in
accordance
with
Salvadoran
law.”

Additionally,
there
is
a
“ceiling
of
0”
on
government
Bitcoin
purchases.

Approved
bill

The
latest
development
follows
the
January

approval
by
El
Salvador
of
a
bill
to
change
its
Bitcoin
law
to
comply
with
the
IMF’s
loan
deal.

Under
the
plans,
El
Salvador
changed
a
legal
requirement
that
businesses
accept
Bitcoin
as
payment
to
make
it
optional
instead.
The
government
would
also
reduce
the
budget
deficit
by
3.5%
of
GDP
over
three
years
through
spending
cuts
and
tax
rises
while
boosting
reserves
from
$11
billion
to
$15
billion.

El
Salvador
became
the

first
country
to
accept
Bitcoin
as
legal
tender
in
2021.
Then,
it
was
reported
that
all
businesses
must
accept
Bitcoin.
Consequently,
the
move
attracted
the
attention
of
the
IMF.

Following
El
Salvador’s
adoption
of
Bitcoin
in
2021,
the
IMF
sent
a

statement
in
November
2021
“recommend[ing]
narrowing
the
scope
of
the
Bitcoin
law”
while
“strengthening
the
regulation
and
supervision
of
the
new
payment
system.”

This
was
again
called
for
in
January
2022,
when
the
IMF
advised
El
Salvador
to

reconsider
making
Bitcoin
the
country’s
legal
tender.
The
IMF
recently
recommended
that
El
Salvador

limit
the
public’s
exposure
to
Bitcoin.