El Salvador’s Bitcoin holdings continue to grow, though that doesn’t necessarily mean the government is still buying one Bitcoin every day.
According to Bitcoin Treasuries, publicly tracked wallets held about 7,773 BTC on September 13, 2026. The same addresses have continued to receive Bitcoin since the country entered a $1.4 billion financing program with the IMF.
For months, those inflows seemed to conflict with El Salvador’s commitment to limit public-sector Bitcoin purchases. The IMF has now clarified: the additional Bitcoin came from private donations, not government funds.
That distinction reshapes the narrative. El Salvador hasn’t abandoned its Bitcoin reserve, but current policy is more restrictive than the daily-buying story suggests.
El Salvador’s Bitcoin Reserve Is Still Growing
El Salvador began purchasing Bitcoin in 2021 and announced a one-BTC-per-day accumulation policy in November 2022.
By September 2, 2026, the country’s National Bitcoin Office was reporting approximately 7,763 BTC. Independent treasury tracker Bitcoin Treasuries placed the balance at about 7,773 BTC on September 13, worth roughly $598 million at the price used by the tracker.
The total is substantially higher than the 6,070 BTC disclosed when the IMF financing arrangement was approved in February 2025.
Onchain balances alone cannot reveal whether new Bitcoin was purchased, mined, donated or transferred from another wallet. That is why the source of the increase matters as much as the final number.
The IMF Says No Public Money Funded the Increase
On September 3, the IMF announced a staff-level agreement covering the second and third reviews of El Salvador’s Extended Fund Facility.
The statement directly addressed the Bitcoin reserve. According to the IMF, the Salvadoran authorities provided documents showing that accumulation since the previous review came from private donations and did not involve public resources.
The IMF also said no additional Bitcoin accumulation is expected beyond documented donations.
This resolves part of the apparent conflict between the growing wallet balance and El Salvador’s financing commitments. The wallets may continue receiving Bitcoin without the government using tax revenue or other public funds to buy it.
It also means the familiar phrase “El Salvador buys one Bitcoin every day” is no longer a reliable description of fiscal policy. The reserve is growing, but the IMF says the recent additions were donated.
The staff-level agreement still requires approval from the IMF Executive Board. If approved, approximately $140 million would become available to El Salvador.
The $1.4 Billion IMF Program Began in 2025
El Salvador did not sign a new $1.4 billion IMF agreement in 2026. The IMF Executive Board approved the 40-month Extended Fund Facility in February 2025.
The program required El Salvador to reduce financial risks created by its original Bitcoin policy. It placed limits on public-sector participation in Bitcoin activities and called for greater transparency around government-controlled crypto assets.
The September 2026 announcement is a review of that existing program. It is important because it indicates that IMF staff believe El Salvador has made enough progress to move toward another disbursement.
The arrangement does not require the country to sell its existing Bitcoin reserve. Its focus is on preventing further public spending, improving governance and reducing the government’s direct role in Bitcoin payment infrastructure.
Bitcoin Is No Longer Mandatory for Salvadoran Businesses
El Salvador became the first country to make Bitcoin legal tender in September 2021. The original law required businesses to accept BTC when they had the necessary technology.
That requirement was removed in 2025.
Bitcoin acceptance is now voluntary, and taxes must be paid in U.S. dollars. The legal reform removed the features that had placed Bitcoin on similar mandatory terms to the dollar.
This was not a ban. Salvadorans can still hold, transfer and accept Bitcoin. Private businesses can continue offering BTC payments, and communities such as El Zonte remain closely associated with Bitcoin commerce.
The difference is that the government no longer requires nationwide participation.
The reform reflects the gap between El Salvador’s national branding and everyday use. IMF research found that Bitcoin adoption had not produced a clear improvement in financial inclusion and that crypto wallets accounted for only a small portion of remittances.
Chivo Wallet Has Moved Out of Government Control
Chivo was designed as the public-facing infrastructure behind El Salvador’s Bitcoin experiment. The government promoted the wallet with a $30 signup incentive and funded conversion between dollars and Bitcoin.
That model has now been substantially unwound.
The IMF says majority ownership and operational control of Chivo have been transferred to a private operator. The government retains a minority stake and certain responsibilities related to the custody of customer assets.
The transfer reduces direct public-sector involvement in retail crypto services while allowing Chivo to continue under private management.
It also separates two parts of El Salvador’s policy that were once treated as one project. Chivo was a payment and wallet initiative. The national Bitcoin reserve is a treasury asset. The government can reduce its role in the former without immediately selling the latter.
Volcano Mining Is Real, but the 474 BTC Figure Is Old
El Salvador has mined Bitcoin with electricity from the state-owned geothermal facility near the Tecapa volcano. Public reporting indicates that the project produced approximately 474 BTC between 2021 and 2024.
That makes geothermal mining a genuine part of the country’s Bitcoin history. It should not, however, be presented as a new 2026 result.
Recent official data has not established how much additional Bitcoin the facility has mined since that figure was published. Claims that upgraded cooling systems have made the operation one of the most efficient mining sites in the world are also difficult to verify.
Geothermal energy may remain strategically useful for mining or data centers, but the economics depend on electricity costs, equipment efficiency, network difficulty and the alternative value of selling power to the grid.
The xAI School Project Is Separate From the Bitcoin Reserve
El Salvador is also pursuing a wider technology agenda.
In December 2025, the government and Elon Musk’s xAI announced a two-year program to deploy Grok across more than 5,000 public schools. The companies said the project could reach over one million students and provide AI-assisted learning tools to teachers.
The partnership is real, but it is not a Bitcoin investment program. There is no evidence that unrealized gains from the national BTC reserve are funding the rollout.
It is better understood as part of President Nayib Bukele’s effort to position El Salvador as a technology-friendly country. The same distinction applies to tax incentives for software, cloud computing, data analytics and artificial intelligence. Those policies support the broader technology sector but do not prove that the Bitcoin strategy financed it.
El Salvador’s Bitcoin Strategy Has Become More Conventional
The original policy attempted to change how an entire country paid for goods, received remittances and kept accounts. The current approach is narrower.
Bitcoin payments remain legal but voluntary. Taxes are paid in dollars. Chivo is moving into private control. Publicly funded BTC purchases are restricted, while existing reserves remain in place and may receive documented private donations.
This is closer to reserve management than monetary transformation.
The change does not settle the debate over whether El Salvador’s Bitcoin experiment succeeded. Supporters can point to the value of the reserve and the country’s visibility within the digital-asset industry. Critics can point to weak everyday adoption, limited transparency and the retreat from mandatory acceptance.
What is clear is that the policy being implemented in 2026 is not the same one introduced in 2021.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How much Bitcoin does El Salvador hold?
Public trackers placed El Salvador’s holdings at approximately 7,773 BTC on September 13, 2026. The balance can change as wallets receive additional funds.
Is El Salvador still buying one Bitcoin per day?
The reported reserve continues to grow, but the IMF says recent accumulation came from private donations and did not use public resources. It is therefore inaccurate to assume every new BTC represents a government-funded purchase.
Has El Salvador agreed to stop buying Bitcoin?
Under its IMF program, El Salvador has committed to limiting public-sector Bitcoin accumulation. The IMF said no further increase is expected beyond documented private donations.
