The International Monetary Fund said it has reached an agreement with El Salvador to pay the country $120 million following an initial review of its $1.4 billion loan agreement struck last year.

The IMF said on May 27 that as part of the deal, El Salvador will need to fulfill its prior obligations around limiting further government involvement in Bitcoin (BTC), and it will have to cease its involvement in the Chivo wallet by the end of July.

“On Bitcoin, efforts will continue to ensure that the total amount of Bitcoin held across all government-owned wallets remains unchanged,” the global lender said.

The planned payout, subject to IMF executive board approval, is part of a larger $1.4 billion, 40-month loan deal struck in December, which saw El Salvador agree to confine its Bitcoin ambitions.

On March 3, the IMF reiterated its stance that El Salvador should stop accumulating Bitcoin and not pursue other Bitcoin-related activities.

Despite the IMF’s request, El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, has stated that his government will continue to acquire one BTC per day as part of the nation’s Bitcoin treasury strategy.

El Salvador again defies IMF

Shortly after the IMF’s May 27 announcement, El Salvador’s Bitcoin Office posted to X that the country had once again purchased more Bitcoin.

Source: The Bitcoin Office

The country’s official Bitcoin tracker shows that El Salvador is continuing with Bitcoin-buying through the Bitcoin Office, which has accumulated 30 BTC in the past 30 days.

Currently, El Salvador’s Bitcoin reserve stands at 6,190.18 BTC.

Related: How can Bukele still stack Bitcoin after IMF loan agreement?

Last week, Bukele took to the social media platform X to reveal that the nation’s Bitcoin treasury is sitting at an unrealized profit of $386 million, a 132% gain on its total Bitcoin investment.

In April, Rodrigo Valdes, director of the Western Hemisphere Department at the IMF, said that the country is complying with the IMF’s performance criteria.

Author and intergovernmental blockchain adviser Anndy Lian suggested that the country could maintain technical compliance by purchasing Bitcoin through non-government entities.

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A crypto trader has pushed back against claims that altcoin season is already over, arguing that it hasn’t even started yet, as many tokens are still near their local price bottoms.

“I don’t understand why people start claiming that a bear market is around the corner,” MN Trading Capital founder Michaël van de Poppe said in a May 28 X post.

Calls for altcoin season mount

“They are literally on the bottom,” van de Poppe added before stating that the “final easy 12-24 months are coming.” While many altcoins have posted gains over the past 30 days, they remain below their levels from the market uptrend until US President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January.

Solana (SOL) posted 17.84% gains over the past 30 days, trading at $175.17, but is still down 32% since Jan. 19, according to CoinMarketCap. Meanwhile, XRP (XRP) posted gains of 1.98%, trading at $2.31, but is still down 29.35% since Jan. 19.

Solana reached an all-time high of $261 on Jan. 19 amid the launch of the Official Trump coin. Source: CoinMarketCap

Van de Poppe’s claim comes after Bitcoin (BTC) traders have recently been calling for a pullback after it reached its $111,970 all-time high and seven green weekly candles. 

Other analysts have echoed similar sentiments to van de Poppe.

“Soon, Altcoins will turn into a wildfire,” crypto trader Davinci Jeremie said. Meanwhile, crypto trader Moustache said that “altseason isn’t just a meme. It’s coming ladies & gentleman.” 

Related: Altcoins’ roaring returns and falling USDT stablecoin dominance suggest ‘altseason’ is here

Many crypto market participants believe that the altcoin season will begin after Ether (ETH) has a period of outperformance relative to Bitcoin.

The ETH/BTC ratio is 0.02430, up 26.74% over the past 30 days, according to TradingView data.

The ETH/BTC ratio is up 26.74% over the past 30 days. Source: TradingView

However, CoinMarketCap’s Altcoin Season Index — which tracks the performance of the top 100 altcoins relative to Bitcoin over the past 90 days — still shows the market leaning toward Bitcoin, with a 24 out of 100 score.

Fartcoin (FARTCOIN) led the top 100 cryptocurrencies in gains over the past 90 days with a 316.72% increase, followed by Four (FORM) at 148.15% and Virtuals Protocol (VIRTUAL) at 107.47%.

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This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

Australia’s markets regulator has filed civil proceedings against Liang “Allan” Guo, the former director of Blockchain Global. 

Guo will face the court on “allegations relating to multiple breaches of his directors’ duties,” the Australian Securities and Investments Commission said in a May 28 press release.

ASIC alleged Guo made multiple breaches of directors’ duties relating to his dealings with ACX Exchange customer funds, and claimed he made false and misleading statements about those dealings and failed to maintain proper books and records. 

The now-liquidated Blockchain Global operated the ACX Exchange from mid-2016 until December 2019, when it collapsed as customers could no longer withdraw their assets. 

During liquidator’s examinations in 2022, the courts were told that ACX exchange took the cash invested by its customers to buy crypto and mingled the funds into one pooled fund, the Sydney Morning Herald reported at the time. 

The liquidators of Blockchain Global estimate that the company owed over 20 million Australian dollars ($12.8 million) in unsecured creditor claims to former customers of the ACX Exchange, ASIC said.

In November 2023, liquidators reported that Blockchain Global had 58.6 million Australian dollars ($37.7 million) owed to unsecured creditors. Of that total, 22.7 million Australian dollars ($14.6 million) were unsecured creditor claims received from former customers of the crypto exchange.

Guo not in country, ASIC says

ASIC said it began investigating Blockchain Global in January 2024 following the liquidators’ report. 

Related: Australia outlines crypto regulation plan, promises action on debanking

Guo was banned from leaving the country as the regulator investigated whether he committed any criminal offences, including transferring money from the collapsed exchange to pay his mortgage.

Guo left Australia in September 2024 after travel restraint orders expired, and he hasn’t returned, it noted. 

Meanwhile, ASIC is seeking the High Court’s permission to appeal a lower court’s ruling in favor of fintech firm Block Earner in a separate case. 

The regulator claimed the crypto company’s fixed-yield earning service was not a financial product.

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