El Salvador bought a further 5 BTC for its national reserve, worth roughly $415,000, as the top crypto nosedived to sub-$83,000 on Monday, reversing Sunday’s price rally to $95,000. https://twitter.com/nayibbukele/status/1896754004996325724 Continuing A Bitcoin Purchase Streak According to the El Salvador National Bitcoin Office, the Central American nation purchased 5 BTC, which is four more than its usual one Bitcoin per day. The latest purchase takes its Bitcoin stockpile to 6,100.18, worth $513 million at today’s prices, with BTC struggling as President Trump’s tariffs against Canada, Mexico, and China take effect. Notably, the president’s latest tariff announcements primarily triggered the crypto-wide, erasing the previous day’s U.S. crypto strategic reserve gains. El Salvador’s continued Bitcoin acquisition comes as it agreed to scale back some of its pro-Bitcoin policies as part of a $1.4 billion loan deal with the International Monetary Fund. These adjustments came around three years after the tiny Latin American nation passed the Bitcoin Law in September 2021, becoming the first country in the world to officially recognize BTC as legal tender. IMF Pushes Back On BTC Adoption In El Salvador Some of those agreements included winding down the government-provided crypto wallet, Chivo, and making it optional and voluntary for local businesses to accept Bitcoin as a means of payment. As ZyCrypto previously reported , El Salvador’s Congress rushed to approve legislation to amend its Bitcoin Law to comply with the IMF agreement. Nevertheless, the Salvadoran government has continued to purchase BTC despite the deal. In fact, the nation snapped up $1 million worth of Bitcoin just a day after signing the agreement with the IMF. National Bitcoin Office Director Stacy Herbert said in late December that El Salvador’s plans had not changed post-IMF, and that the country would continue buying BTC for its Strategic Bitcoin Reserve “at possibly an accelerated pace.” However, the International Monetary Fund is now looking to prohibit the voluntary accumulation of BTC by the public sector during the program as part of an extended $1.4 billion funding agreement with the nation.
