El Salvador is still sticking to its Bitcoin freeze, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said during the Spring Meetings 2025 for the Western Hemisphere Department, according to the official press briefing transcript. But the country’s actual actions appear to contradict the global lender’s claim.

"I can confirm that they continue to comply with their commitment of non-accumulation of bitcoin by the overall fiscal sector," Rodrigo Valdes, Director of the Western Hemisphere Department at the IMF, stated during the conference, as quoted by Cryptopolitan.

Valdes added that Bitcoin is not central to El Salvador's economic package. "The programme of El Salvador is not about bitcoin. It's much more, much deeper in structural reforms, in terms of governance, in terms of transparency," he explained. The country is implementing significant changes aimed at improving government transparency and operations.

Earlier this year, the IMF approved a 40-month Extended Fund Facility arrangement for El Salvador, providing access to approximately $1.4bn. potentially reaching $3.5bn when including other international financial institutions' contributions. Valdes noted that an "important fiscal adjustment" is currently underway, designed to create a more favourable environment for private investment and accelerate economic growth.

The Washington-based lender is preparing its first comprehensive review of the programme, with Valdes suggesting that continued progress could yield greater benefits, highlighting that El Salvador now rests on much stronger macroeconomic foundations. He added that significant security improvements in recent years would provide additional economic advantages.

The IMF's statement clashes with data from El Salvador's Bitcoin Office, which shows that the country acquired seven Bitcoins worth over $650,000 in the seven days leading up to April 27, Cointelegraph reported.

This is not the first time that El Salvador’s actions regarding Bitcoin have contradicted the IMF’s desire for the country to cease building its Bitcoin reserves. In March, El Salvador raised its national strategic reserve to BTC5,102.

Yet the country also made strides towards meeting the fund's conditions. In January, the Congress controlled by President Nayib Bukele's New Ideas party approved sweeping reforms that eliminated the mandatory acceptance of bitcoin as legal tender – a key requirement for securing a $1.4bn credit line from the IMF. This reversed the 2021 landmark decision that saw the country become the first nation to integrate cryptocurrency into its economy. 

These discrepancies raise fundamental questions about the transparency of El Salvador's crypto strategy and its adherence to IMF conditions, potentially hampering the country's ongoing efforts to balance its lofty cryptocurrency ambitions with international financial obligations. Such non-compliance could compromise El Salvador’s economic prospects as a result.