El Salvador appeared to contradict a recent agreement with the IMF to cease public investment in Bitcoin.
Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele raised eyebrows among industry observers on March 4 when he said that his government’s Bitcoin purchases won’t stop, despite a requirement from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
El Salvador struck a $1.4 billion loan deal with the IMF in January on the condition that it walk back Bitcoin (BTC) adoption and declassify it as compulsory legal tender.
On March 3, the IMF released a report outlining the terms of the agreement, noting that it would prohibit the public accumulation of Bitcoin — i.e., the government or government-controlled entities couldn’t buy Bitcoin or mine it. Bukele, seemingly defiant, said his country would continue accumulating Bitcoin anyway.
