The Wall Street Journal

El Salvador Made Bitcoin an Official Currency. Now It’s Backtracking for IMF Loan.

Organization is showing flexibility by allowing the bitcoin program to proceed in a limited way

A bitcoin statue in El Salvador last month.
A bitcoin statue in El Salvador last month. Photo: Juan Carlos/Bloomberg

The government of El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele agreed to scale back his ambitious plan to adopt bitcoin as a national currency in exchange for a much-needed $1.4 billion loan by the International Monetary Fund.

The IMF said Wednesday that in exchange for the financial-aid program to support the Bukele administration economic overhaul agenda, the government agreed to implement measures to mitigate bitcoin-related risks.

WSJ Logo