Recently, an interesting contradiction has emerged regarding El Salvador's Bitcoin policy.
On one hand, the charismatic President Nayib Bukele publicly declares on social media: "We are buying one Bitcoin every day!" Blockchain data seems to confirm this, with a wallet address tagged as El Salvador's treasury showing a steady daily Bitcoin inflow.
On the other hand, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and El Salvador's Finance Minister have stated the complete opposite: the government has not purchased any new Bitcoin since February 2025.
So, with one side showing a public "daily investment" and the other a serious official denial, who is lying? Or why does this seemingly schizophrenic "dual ledger" exist?
The answer is simple: to please two completely different "sponsors", the El Salvadoran government is performing a sophisticated "magic trick".
The First "Sponsor": Global Bitcoin Believers
President Bukele knows that his and his country's international reputation largely rests on the image of being the "world's first country to make Bitcoin legal tender". He needs to continuously demonstrate his commitment to millions of global cryptocurrency supporters.
The slogan "buying one Bitcoin daily" is a perfect public relations show. It's low-cost but highly effective. Not only does it continuously attract media attention and portray El Salvador as an innovative center embracing the future, but it also attracts numerous "Bitcoin tourists", tangibly boosting the local economy. For this group, Bukele must appear like a rebellious hero, a leader daring to challenge the traditional financial system. The publicly transparent on-chain transaction records are the "ledger" he shows this group, proving his words.
The Second "Sponsor": International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Behind the heroic narrative lies El Salvador's harsh economic reality. With high national debt, sluggish economic growth, and urgent need for funds to avoid a potential debt crisis, El Salvador must seek help from the traditional financial world's "big brother" - the IMF, hoping to obtain a critical loan of $1.4 billion.
The IMF has always been skeptical and even opposed to El Salvador's Bitcoin experiment. They believe investing national fiscal resources in a highly volatile asset is extremely risky. To secure this loan, El Salvador must agree to the IMF's strict conditions, with the core condition being: stop using public funds to buy more Bitcoin.
To obtain this crucial loan, El Salvador's Finance Minister and Central Bank Governor must provide a written commitment to the IMF, guaranteeing that the government's Bitcoin holdings have not increased, and provide all wallet addresses for supervision. This is the other "ledger" they show the IMF, one of fiscal discipline and compliance.
Magic Trick Revealed: How to "Buy and Not Buy" Simultaneously?
So how does El Salvador maintain these two contradictory ledgers?
They exploit a technical characteristic of the Bitcoin blockchain. The so-called "daily purchase" is not actually the government buying Bitcoin with new dollars from the market, but an "internal fund consolidation".
Simply put, the El Salvadoran government already holds Bitcoin scattered across multiple wallets (such as funds deposited in the state-operated Chivo electronic wallet). What they do daily is transfer one Bitcoin from these scattered wallets to the central treasury cold wallet that's globally watched.
On the blockchain, any transfer is recorded as a new transaction. So for external observers only looking at the chain record, it appears like a new purchase daily. But for the IMF examining the entire national asset-liability sheet, this is merely an asset transfer between different accounts, with the total Bitcoin holdings unchanged and no new fiscal funds spent.
Conclusion: A Tacit "Strategic Performance"
So, returning to the original question: Who is lying?
More accurately, no one is "blatantly" lying, but President Bukele is undoubtedly conducting an extremely misleading "strategic performance".
He shows his supporters the story they want to see, using technical means to make this story appear seamless. Simultaneously, he promises the IMF what they want to hear in another document.
This is not simply a matter of right or wrong, but a pragmatic, even ingenious strategy adopted by a small country navigating the crevices of global financial and geopolitical landscapes. He needs both the brand effect and alternative income from the Bitcoin community and the IMF's funds to maintain the country's basic operations.
El Salvador's story tells us that in the real world, especially at the intersection of politics and finance, the truth is often complex and multifaceted. One public ledger is used to shape an image, while a private ledger solves problems - perhaps the most authentic portrayal of this sovereign Bitcoin experiment.
