FILE PHOTO: A view shows a Chivo Bitcoin ATM, a Bitcoin digital wallet that the Salvadoran government launched for the use of Bitcoin as legal tender, in San Salvador, El Salvador, February 27, 2025. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas/File Photo
SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) - El Salvador announced on Wednesday the purchase of a bitcoin, which takes the total in the country's strategic reserve to above 6,102 coins, the National Bitcoin Office posted on social media.
The bitcoin purchase announcement comes days after the International Monetary Fund board approved a 40-month program with El Salvador for $1.4 billion that implied a downgrade of the cryptocurrency's status in the Central American country. Bitcoin cannot be used to pay taxes and its acceptance by the public is voluntary, which is not what was expected when it was given a legal tender status back in 2021.
