El Salvador buys the dip defying IMF demands: Over $100M in BTC added as price wobbles

El Salvador executed its largest single-day Bitcoin (BTC) buy since adopting the cryptocurrency in 2021, buying roughly 1,090 BTC value roughly $100 million as costs slid under $90,000 on Nov. 18.

President Nayib Bukele disclosed the transaction on X with a screenshot from the authorities’s Bitcoin dashboard exhibiting complete holdings had climbed to 7,474 BTC, value between $680 million and $700 million at present costs.

The acquisition marks a 17% jump in nationwide reserves over seven days and represents the most vital single-session addition to El Salvador’s stack.

The purchase landed throughout a broader risk-asset selloff that erased Bitcoin’s 2025 positive factors and pushed costs almost 30% under the October document above $126,000. The drawdown stems from doubts over Federal Reserve charge cuts and a correction in synthetic intelligence shares.

The buy extends El Salvador’s dollar-cost-averaging program, launched in November 2022, with a dedication to accumulate 1 BTC per day.

The authorities has maintained that accumulation technique by means of each bull and bear cycles, often including bigger tranches when costs fall sharply.

On-chain construction and transparency

The new cash stream into El Salvador’s Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, a custody framework the National Bitcoin Office deployed in August 2025. The construction distributes holdings throughout a number of wallets, every capped at 500 BTC, with a public dashboard aggregating balances.

Before the current purchase, disclosed reserves ranged from 6,100 to six,313 BTC. Bukele’s May and September updates confirmed a number of hundred million {dollars} in unrealized revenue when Bitcoin traded close to $100,000.

Third-party trackers, together with Bitcoin Treasuries and KuCoin, now report the up to date determine of seven,474 BTC. The acquisition registers as a small fraction of every day Bitcoin turnover however carries weight towards skinny spot order books throughout risk-off classes.

The timing positions El Salvador as considered one of the few institutional consumers keen so as to add publicity whereas exchange-traded funds document internet outflows.

Additionally, the buy reignites friction with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

El Salvador secured a 40-month, $1.4 billion Extended Fund Facility in late 2024 and early 2025, with mortgage paperwork requiring the authorities to reduce provisions of its 2021 Bitcoin Law.

Tax funds in Bitcoin have been prohibited, and personal sector acceptance shifted from obligatory to voluntary. Per the IMF workers report, authorities “stay dedicated to not rising the public sector’s publicity to Bitcoin,” and administrators welcomed that pledge whereas warning about financial-stability and financial dangers.

In March, El Salvador dedicated “to not accumulate additional bitcoins at the stage of the total public sector” as a part of the program. Yet, Bukele has continued shopping for anyway.

The authorities maintained its every day acquisition coverage after the IMF settlement and executed a ceremonial 21 BTC purchase in September to mark “Bitcoin Day,” which contradicted the program’s phrases.

IMF officers have tried to reconcile the discrepancy by stating that will increase to the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve stay in line with conditionality, with out clarifying how purchases by the National Bitcoin Office keep away from including to total state publicity.

Market depth and sovereign signaling

The $100 million order stream carries symbolic weight past its measurement. El Salvador operates considered one of the few sovereign Bitcoin treasuries and has demonstrated a willingness to lean into drawdowns, even amid multi-year IMF obligations.

The purchase arrived as Bitcoin broke under $90,000 for the first time in roughly seven months, a threshold that triggered promoting from leveraged positions and institutional holders.

From a market microstructure perspective, the transaction offers seen assist in skinny books throughout a session when most institutional capital fled danger belongings.

The authorities’s dashboard replace and Bukele’s public disclosure reinforce the administration’s dedication to accumulation no matter short-term price motion or exterior stress from multilateral lenders.

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