IMF & Global Regulators Shift Gears: Bitcoin and Crypto Get Warmer Welcome in Wealth Standards

Regulators finally stop pretending crypto doesn't exist—just in time for their own portfolios.

After years of treating Bitcoin like financial kryptonite, the IMF and global watchdogs are quietly rewriting the rulebook. New wealth assessment guidelines show a thaw in the regulatory deep freeze—no more pretending blockchain is a passing fad.

The pivot comes as institutional adoption hits critical mass. Pension funds now allocate more to crypto than fine art, while sovereign wealth funds quietly stack SATs. Even Swiss private banks—the original gold bugs—are offering BTC-collateralized loans.

Behind the scenes: Regulators realized their anti-crypto stance was becoming as relevant as fax machine regulations. When 3% of global wealth fled to self-custody wallets last quarter, bureaucrats chose evolution over irrelevance.

The fine print still reeks of bureaucracy though. 'Risk-adjusted valuation frameworks' and 'enhanced disclosure requirements' give regulators plausible deniability when the next bull run makes their pension funds look underperforming.

One cynical take: This 'softening' coincides perfectly with central banks needing to offload their own digital currency failures onto private chains. How convenient that crypto becomes 'legitimate' just as state-issued alternatives flop.

Crypto gains formal recognition

The revision comes as part of a broader effort to modernize how countries track production, income, and wealth in a rapidly digitizing world.

The IMF, which played a key role in drafting the update, emphasized the importance of capturing the economic footprint of digital assets like Bitcoin. Though they account for a relatively small share of global wealth, their volatility and rising adoption pose notable implications for financial stability, tax policy, and regulatory oversight.

By incorporating crypto into national accounts, the updated framework aims to close long-standing statistical gaps and help policymakers respond to emerging risks more effectively. The changes also include recommendations for measuring artificial intelligence, cloud services, and digital platforms.

El Salvador’s Bitcoin strategy

The shift comes amid renewed tensions between the IMF and El Salvador, the first country to adopt bitcoin as legal tender.

Despite agreeing to scale back its Bitcoin-related policies under a $1.4 billion IMF loan deal in 2024, President Nayib Bukele’s administration has continued claiming daily BTC purchases, statements the IMF has challenged.

El Salvador’s public Bitcoin holdings, reportedly over 6,000 BTC, are now expected to be captured in national wealth statistics under the revised SNA.

The IMF plans to assist countries in adopting the new standards by 2029–30, potentially offering greater transparency for crypto-inclusive economies navigating global financial scrutiny.