El Salvador Buys $100M Bitcoin Dip, Defying IMF

El Salvador’s National Bitcoin Office executed its most substantial single-day Bitcoin acquisition since the country’s groundbreaking 2021 adoption, purchasing roughly 1,090 BTC worth approximately $100 million on November 18. The transaction occurred as Bitcoin prices slid below $90,000 during a broader risk-asset selloff that erased Bitcoin’s 2025 gains and pushed prices nearly 30% below the October record above $126,000. President Nayib Bukele publicly disclosed the purchase through a screenshot from the government’s Bitcoin dashboard, revealing that total national holdings had climbed to 7,474 BTC, valued between $680 million and $700 million at current prices.

The acquisition represents a 17% jump in El Salvador’s Bitcoin reserves over just seven days and marks the most significant single-session addition to the country’s cryptocurrency stack. This strategic purchase extends El Salvador’s dollar-cost-averaging program, launched in November 2022, which commits the government to acquiring 1 BTC per day. The administration has maintained this accumulation strategy through both bull and bear market cycles, occasionally adding larger tranches when prices experience sharp declines, demonstrating a consistent approach to building national cryptocurrency reserves regardless of market conditions.

The newly acquired Bitcoin flows into El Salvador’s Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, a custody framework deployed by the National Bitcoin Office in August 2025. This transparent structure distributes holdings across multiple wallets, each capped at 500 BTC, with a public dashboard aggregating balances for real-time monitoring. Before the recent $100 million purchase, disclosed reserves ranged from 6,100 to 6,313 BTC, with President Bukele’s May and September updates showing several hundred million dollars in unrealized profit when Bitcoin traded near $100,000.

While the acquisition registers as a small fraction of daily Bitcoin turnover, it carries significant weight against thin spot order books during risk-off trading sessions. The timing positions El Salvador as one of the few institutional buyers willing to add exposure while exchange-traded funds record net outflows. Third-party trackers, including Bitcoin Treasuries and KuCoin, now confirm the updated figure of 7,474 BTC in national reserves, providing independent verification of the government’s transparent reporting practices.

The substantial Bitcoin purchase reignites friction with the International Monetary Fund, coming despite El Salvador’s commitment under a 40-month, $1.4 billion Extended Fund Facility secured in late 2024 and early 2025. Loan documents explicitly required the government to scale back provisions of its 2021 Bitcoin Law, including prohibiting tax payments in Bitcoin and shifting private sector acceptance from mandatory to voluntary. According to the IMF staff report, authorities ‘remain committed to not increasing the public sector’s exposure to Bitcoin,’ with directors welcoming that pledge while warning about financial-stability and fiscal risks.

In March, El Salvador committed ‘not to accumulate further bitcoins at the level of the overall public sector’ as part of the IMF program. Yet, President Bukele has continued buying regardless, maintaining the daily acquisition policy after the IMF agreement and executing a ceremonial 21 BTC purchase in September to mark ‘Bitcoin Day.’ IMF officials have attempted to reconcile this discrepancy by stating that increases to the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve remain consistent with conditionality, without clarifying how purchases by the National Bitcoin Office avoid adding to overall state exposure.

The $100 million order flow carries symbolic weight beyond its size, positioning El Salvador as one of the few sovereign nations operating a Bitcoin treasury and demonstrating willingness to accumulate during market drawdowns despite multi-year IMF obligations. The purchase arrived as Bitcoin broke below $90,000 for the first time in roughly seven months, a psychological threshold that triggered selling from leveraged positions and institutional holders. From a market microstructure perspective, the transaction provides visible support in thin order books during a session when most institutional capital fled risk assets.

President Bukele’s public disclosure and the government’s dashboard update reinforce the administration’s commitment to Bitcoin accumulation regardless of short-term price action or external pressure from multilateral lenders. The move underscores El Salvador’s unique position in the global financial landscape, maintaining its pioneering cryptocurrency strategy even as it navigates traditional international financing relationships. This latest purchase demonstrates the country’s determination to pursue its Bitcoin agenda while managing the complexities of IMF program compliance.