Bitcoin sinks and punishes El Salvador 🔥📉
-300M in reserves exposes Bukele's bet and threatens the IMF's lifeline of $1.4B
Is the 'national HODL' derailing the agreement with the IMF?
The brutal correction of #bitcoin in February 2026, with the price dropping more than 22% since the end of January, has hit hard on the government's reserves of #ElSalvador .
The country accumulates 7.561 #BTC , now valued at around $496.52 million.
The recent drop has evaporated hundreds of millions in unrealized value: estimates point to an approximate loss of $300 million in the value of holdings from previous peaks, exposing the risks of the daily "buy the dip" strategy driven by Nayib Bukele.
Despite everything, #Bukele does not relent: the government continues to buy 1 BTC per day (even adding gold for diversification), and recently celebrated "we bought the other dip" in viral posts. This clashes head-on with the IMF's $1.4 billion agreement (Extended Fund Facility for 2024/2025), which required limiting exposure to Bitcoin, making its private acceptance voluntary, prohibiting additional public purchases during the program, and reducing fiscal/stability risks.
The result: alarm in debt markets. Salvadoran bonds (e.g., maturity 2035) lost up to 2.6 cents on the dollar before partially recovering, credit risk spikes and analysts warn that continued BTC purchases + delays in reforms (like pensions) could complicate or block future disbursements from #FMI , a key pillar for the country's finances amid imminent debt payments.
Bukele defends the long-term vision: "Proof of work > proof of whining". But in the short term, crypto volatility jeopardizes fiscal stability.
Is this heroic HODL or a gamble that threatens the international rescue?
The IMF watches closely, and bond investors sweat.
