According to Cointelegraph, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is seeking to tighten restrictions on the purchase of Bitcoin in El Salvador as part of a $1.4 billion financing arrangement with the country. On March 3, the IMF submitted new requirements for fund expansion arrangements to El Salvador, including a technical memorandum of understanding, which explicitly put forward the conditions that “the public sector of El Salvador shall not voluntarily accumulate Bitcoin.” The memorandum also requires restrictions on the issuance of “any type of debt or tokenization instrument that is pegged to or denominated in Bitcoin and constitutes a liability to the public sector.” In a accompanying statement on February 26, Méndez Bertolo, Executive Director of El Salvador, stressed that the IMF’s extended fund mechanism is designed to “improve governance, transparency and resilience, boost confidence and national growth potential.” "At the same time, Bitcoin-related risks are being mitigated. The authorities have revised the Bitcoin Act to clarify the legal nature of Bitcoin and remove the basic characteristics of fiat currencies. Accepting Bitcoin will be voluntary, taxes will be paid in US dollars, and the role of the public sector in the Bitcoin project will be restricted." The plan is expected to attract "large amounts of additional financial support" from the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank and other regional development banks.