Home IMF urges El salvador to strengthen Bitcoin oversight

IMF urges El salvador to strengthen Bitcoin oversight

TLDR

  • IMF urges El Salvador to strengthen oversight and limit Bitcoin adoption in the public sector.
  • El Salvador's 2025 budget aims to be debt-free, avoiding new debt for past obligations.
  • President Bukele noted Bitcoin adoption domestically has not met initial expectations.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) urged El Salvador — the first country to adopt Bitcoin (BTC) as its legal tender — to strengthen its oversight over Bitcoin (BTC) transactions in the country.

According to an Oct. 3 Reuters report, IMF spokesperson Julie Kozack said during a recent press conference that El Salvador should limit its Bitcoin adoption. Furthermore, she also added that the nation should limit the public sector’s exposure to it.

El Salvador’s Bitcoin strategy

At the same time, Kozack admitted that El Salvador’s 2025 budget proposal is a good step toward strengthening the nation’s public finances. In mid-September,  President Nayib Bukele announced that the country’s 2025 budget will be debt-free.

Bukele further highlighted that no new debt would be issued even to cover expenses related to debt accumulated in the past. In mid-May, data released by the country’s “Bitcoin Office” showed that El Salvador could hold up to 5,750 BTC.

Since 2021, the nation has mined nearly 474 BTC by harnessing the geothermal power generated from the Tecapa volcano. More recent data shared by the Bitcoin Office shows that El Salvador holds 5,892 BTC — worth $362.42 million as of press time.

At the end of August, Bukele shared a positive outlook on the nation’s adoption of Bitcoin during an interview. He said his country’s gamble on the traded security was one that has paid off financially, but its use domestically has fallen short of growth expectations.

“It hasn’t had the adoption we expected. […] I expected more adoption, definitely, but we always prided ourselves on being a free country, free in every way.”

IMF spokesperson’s remarks follow Bitcoin’s price falling under $61,000 yesterday, only reporting a minor slump following Iran’s recent attack on Israel. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at about $61,700 after seeing its price increase by over 2.2% over the last 24 hours.

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Radek Zielinski
Tech Journalist

Radek Zielinski is an experienced technology and financial journalist with a passion for cybersecurity and futurology.

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