PANews reported on May 28 that according to Decrypt, the Bitcoin Office of El Salvador announced on Tuesday that it had increased its holdings by 8 bitcoins, bringing the country's reserves to nearly 6,200 (worth about $674 million). The move came hours after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) completed its first round of review of the country's $1.4 billion loan program. In its review, the IMF asked El Salvador to stop the government's increase in crypto assets and set a deadline of July to close the state-owned crypto wallet Chivo. However, the country took advantage of the institutional design that the Bitcoin Office does not belong to the fiscal department and continued to make small daily purchases. President Bukele had previously abolished the mandatory status of Bitcoin as a legal currency, but still maintained its optional currency attributes.

The review will allow El Salvador to receive an additional $2 billion in development bank financing to help it deal with a public debt that accounts for 85% of GDP. Rodrigo Valdes, director of the IMF’s Western Hemisphere Department, said in April that El Salvador’s “fiscal authorities have generally complied with their commitment not to increase their holdings of Bitcoin.”