Blockchain Sleuth Points out El Salvador Might Be 'Recycling Bitcoin'

Sani, an onchain analyst, has unveiled data that appears to confirm the IMF’s allegations about El Salvador’s purported bitcoin purchases. Nonetheless, the country continues to post each BTC addition as a purchase via the Bitcoin Office (ONBTC) social media account.

El Salvador Bitcoin Purchases Under Scrutiny: Onchain Evidence of ‘Shuffling’ Arises

El Salvador, one of the pioneer countries in establishing a bitcoin reserve and the first to enact bitcoin as legal tender, is under scrutiny due to its alleged bitcoin purchases. While President Bukele has stated that his administration will “never stop” buying bitcoin, on-chain data suggests that the country might be shuffling bitcoin from its addresses.

On September 9, Sani, founder of the Time Chain Index platform, found evidence of what he called “ bitcoin recycling” processes. Sani pointed out that 3KhF5JyMkTtViu2jnp5rffedQbVjydRYKC, a BTC address linked to El Salvador’s alleged purchases, withdrew 63 BTC from Binance, the exchange associated with these transactions.

Sani revealed that there were transactions from this address to Binance and then subsequent withdrawals from Binance to El Salvador’s own addresses. On September 07, when Bukele himself announced that the country was acquiring 21 BTC to celebrate Bitcoin Day, Sani explains that the address directly sent 21 BTC to the country’s addresses.

Taking all this into account, Sani declared:

This raises a key question: is the country merely shuffling Bitcoin across wallets, sending 1 BTC per day to its Strategic Reserve Wallet? An official clarification is needed.

The controversy about these bitcoin purchases is not new. On July 18, as part of the compliance report, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) claimed that the country was consolidating bitcoin across various government wallets. This allegation was later confirmed in a press briefing by Julie Kozack, Director of the Communications Department of the IMF.

Nonetheless, government sources, including the official account of The National Bitcoin Office (ONBTC) of El Salvador, have not issued clarification on this issue and have continued to address these movements as acquisitions.

Read more: One-Two: IMF Reiterates That El Salvador Is Just Shuffling Bitcoin

Read more: Latam Insights Encore: El Salvador Should Clarify Bitcoin Shuffling Allegations