Latam Insights Encore: El Salvador Should Clarify Bitcoin Shuffling Allegations

Welcome to Latam Insights Encore, a deep dive into Latin America’s most relevant economic and crypto news from the past week. In this edition, we examine the latest allegations about the status of El Salvador’s bitcoin purchases and how the Salvadoran government should clear the air regarding the subject.

Latam Insights Encore: El Salvador’s Silence on Bitcoin Purchases Speaks for Itself

The standoff between the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Salvadoran government regarding the alleged Salvadoran bitcoin purchases issue still rages on. While the government still labels bitcoin additions as purchases, the IMF recently reiterated that government wallets hold the same amount of bitcoin, with no increases since the $1.4 billion credit facility was greenlighted.

In a recent briefing, Inner City Press’ Matthew Lee directly asked about the issue, receiving the same answer from Julie Kozack, Director of the Communications Department of the IMF. “The accumulation of Bitcoin by the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Fund is consistent with program conditionality. And the increases in the Bitcoin Reserve Fund relate to movements across various government-owned wallets,” she stated, confirming what was revealed in the report that examines compliance with program conditions.

Even with these allegations, the National Bitcoin Office (ONBTC) of El Salvador has continued to announce these alleged purchases on social media. The latest announcement was posted on August 3, reporting that the National Bitcoin reserve had reached 6,258.19 BTC.

While President Bukele has been quick to respond to other topics on social media, being very vocal, he and other government spokespersons have chosen to stay quiet, avoiding direct interaction with people demanding answers.

I believe that it is in the best interests of the nation to clarify the real state of bitcoin adoption and the national reserve, as the current inconsistencies have raised questions about the validity of the government claims, which seeks to become Latam’s crypto hub by default.

A simple post on X by President Nayib Bukele could dispel the doubts that have been puzzling the bitcoin community since El Salvador announced it was scaling back its bitcoin adoption due to IMF requirements..

Read more: One-Two: IMF Reiterates That El Salvador Is Just Shuffling Bitcoin