El Salvador Adds 21 BTC on Fourth Anniversary, Total Bitcoin Holdings Reach $701 Million

TLDR

• El Salvador now holds 6,313.18 BTC valued at approximately $701 million after adding 21 BTC on Bitcoin Day
• Despite an IMF loan agreement requiring a halt to Bitcoin accumulation, El Salvador continues to purchase Bitcoin
• The government recently redistributed its Bitcoin holdings across multiple addresses, citing quantum computing threats
• El Salvador revised its Bitcoin Law to make merchant acceptance voluntary while retaining crypto as legal tender
• Critics say more education initiatives are needed to help average citizens rather than government agencies

El Salvador has marked the fourth anniversary of its groundbreaking Bitcoin legal tender law with another purchase of 21 BTC, pushing its national holdings above $700 million in value. The purchase represents a symbolic nod to Bitcoin’s 21 million coin supply cap and demonstrates the country’s continued commitment to its Bitcoin strategy despite international pressures.

President Nayib Bukele confirmed the purchase through the country’s Bitcoin Office on Sunday, September 7, 2025. This latest acquisition brings El Salvador’s total Bitcoin reserves to 6,313.18 BTC, now valued at approximately $701 million.

The purchase comes during what the government calls “Bitcoin Day,” commemorating the date in September 2021 when Bitcoin officially became legal tender in the country. El Salvador made history as the first nation to adopt Bitcoin as an official currency alongside the U.S. dollar.

According to blockchain data and government figures, El Salvador has been consistently buying 1 BTC per day since March of last year. This steady accumulation strategy has continued despite the country’s financial agreements with international lenders.

The Bitcoin Office highlighted several achievements in a social media post, noting that 80,000 public servants have received Bitcoin certification as of 2025. The government also pointed to new banking laws allowing BTC investment banks to serve sophisticated investors.

Mixed Results After Four Years

El Salvador’s Bitcoin experiment has produced mixed results over its four-year implementation. While the government touts the success of its strategic reserve, critics argue that average citizens have seen limited benefits from the national Bitcoin policy.

The country has scaled back some aspects of its Bitcoin laws to comply with a $1.4 billion loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) signed in December 2024. As part of this deal, El Salvador revised its Bitcoin Law to make merchant acceptance voluntary, though Bitcoin maintains its status as legal tender.

The loan agreement also requires the government to exit from the Chivo wallet program, which saw limited adoption among residents. The IMF mandated that El Salvador halt voluntary Bitcoin accumulation by public entities, making the recent 21 BTC purchase potentially problematic for compliance with the loan terms.

An IMF report published in July revealed that El Salvador had not purchased any new Bitcoin since signing the loan agreement in December 2024. The report included a letter of intent signed by El Salvador’s central bank president and minister of finance confirming that the government’s BTC balance had not changed at that time.

Security Measures and Transparency

In late August, El Salvador’s National Bitcoin Office redistributed its holdings across multiple addresses, with approximately 500 BTC per address. Officials cited quantum computing threats as the reason for this security measure.

The government has created a public dashboard listing these new addresses to maintain transparency about its Bitcoin holdings. This move comes as part of what officials describe as “a strategic initiative to enhance the security and long-term custody of the National Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.”

The IMF estimated in March that El Salvador’s Bitcoin purchases since 2021 totaled roughly $300 million, generating more than $400 million in unrealized gains at current prices. However, the fund noted that limited disclosure prevents a full independent assessment of the portfolio.

Critics, including some Bitcoin advocates and non-governmental organizations, argue that more educational initiatives are needed to help the local population understand and adopt Bitcoin rather than focusing on government agencies and international corporations.

Despite the criticisms and IMF restrictions, El Salvador’s holdings place it among countries with the largest sovereign Bitcoin reserves. Future disbursements under the IMF program depend on compliance reviews through 2027, keeping the government under scrutiny as it balances its Bitcoin strategy with international financial obligations.

The latest purchase demonstrates El Salvador’s continued commitment to Bitcoin despite the mixed results of its four-year experiment as the world’s first nation to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender.

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