El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele fired back at media reports suggesting the country had transferred its sovereign Bitcoin holdings to private entities, calling the interpretations “totally false” on social media. The clarification came one day after the International Monetary Fund released a staff-level agreement that, depending on how you read it, could sound like the country was quietly offloading its crypto stash.
It wasn’t. According to Bukele, only equity shares in the Chivo wallet, the government-backed Bitcoin payment app, were transferred to a private operator. The nation’s Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, holding roughly 7,764 BTC valued between $618 million and $632 million, remains firmly in government hands.
What the IMF actually said
On September 3, the IMF published findings from the combined second and third reviews of El Salvador’s $1.4 billion Extended Fund Facility program. The agreement would unlock approximately $140 million in new disbursements, pending board approval.
Buried in the language was a detail that caught headlines: majority ownership and operational control of the Chivo wallet had been transferred to a private operator. The government retained a minority stake and continued to serve as custodian for customer assets.
