El Salvador’s bitcoin wallet to be sold or discontinued after deal with IMF, official says

SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) – El Salvador’s official digital bitcoin wallet Chivo will be sold or discontinued, an official said on Thursday, a day after the Central American country struck an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Stacy Herbert, director of the national bitcoin office, said the cryptocurrency would remain a legal tender and that the government would continue to buy it, possibly at an accelerated pace, for its strategic reserves.

On Wednesday, El Salvador struck a $1.4 billion loan deal with the IMF after agreeing that it would scale back its bitcoin policies. In 2021, the country became the first to make the cryptocurrency a legal tender.