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It’s with a heavy heart that we report news from El Salvador: President Nayib Bukele announced this Saturday that the nation’s sole pet hospital will be shutting its doors. This hospital, a project funded by surplus from El Salvador’s Bitcoin trust, is closing sooner than many expected.

The reason behind the closure of Chivo Pets hospital? A troubling case of negligence. Reports indicate that dogs were mistreated and left to fend for themselves in a shelter managed by the municipality of San Salvador. This unfortunate situation appears to be the catalyst for the hospital’s sudden end.

Nayib Bukele broke the news via his Facebook page

In a poignant farewell message shared on its own Facebook page, Chivo Pets stated, “After three wonderful years filled with dedication and unwavering commitment, it is with a bittersweet feeling that we must say goodbye. As of 12:00 A.M., Chivo Pets will be closing its doors. However, the love, the dedication, and all the stories we’ve shared together will live on in our hearts forever.” Bukele himself echoed this sentiment, sharing Chivo Pets’ post on his own Facebook, simply adding, “Thank you for everything.”

But the closures don’t stop there. President Bukele also announced the shutdown of the state Animal Welfare Institute and Polipet, a specialized police unit dedicated to pet protection. The reason? Sadly, it’s the same issue of negligence that plagues Chivo Pets. Bukele explained, “…it has become clear that neither the Institute of Animal Welfare (IBA) nor Polipet took the necessary actions to prevent this deeply concerning problem. Therefore, I have made the difficult decision to close both institutions and to dismiss all officials and staff involved.”

It seems public outcry played a significant role in this decision. The President reportedly made this move after seeing over 8,000 social media messages from concerned citizens. These messages detailed the troubling conditions of dogs in a shelter operated by the municipality of East San Salvador, highlighting instances of mistreatment and abandonment.

Let’s not forget the origins of Chivo Pets itself. This animal hospital was conceived and built using a portion of the roughly $4 million in surplus funds from El Salvador’s Bitcoin adoption trust. When President Bukele inaugurated Chivo Pets, he promised a 24/7 operation, capable of caring for 200 animals, all for a nominal fee of just $0.25 per day – a benefit made possible, he said, by the earnings from the Bitcoin trust.

Unfortunately, Chivo Pets joins a growing list of Bitcoin-related projects in El Salvador that haven’t quite panned out. From Bitcoin City and the NFT Casino to the Chivo Wallet, Volcano Bonds, and the LaGeo crypto mining operation, the country’s foray into Bitcoin has been marked by both ambition and setbacks.

El Salvador’s Bitcoin Buys Continue Amidst IMF Loan

Despite international pressures, El Salvador’s commitment to Bitcoin remains unwavering. Remember back in 2022 when President Nayib Bukele announced on X, “We are buying one #Bitcoin every day starting tomorrow”? True to his word, the country has consistently accumulated Bitcoin over the past couple of years.

Interestingly, this Bitcoin accumulation continues even after El Salvador secured a significant $1.4 billion loan from the IMF in December 2024. A condition of that loan was for El Salvador to dial back its Bitcoin involvement, including ceasing to use Bitcoin as legal tender and reducing the public sector’s engagement with the cryptocurrency.

In January 2025, El Salvador’s Congress indeed amended its Bitcoin laws to fall in line with the IMF agreement. With a decisive vote of 55 to 2, lawmakers repealed the previous legislation. However, this legal change didn’t stop the Bitcoin purchases. On February 1st, they even ramped it up, buying two BTC in a single day, and the daily accumulation continues.

Unsurprisingly, the IMF has urged El Salvador to halt these Bitcoin acquisitions. On March 3rd, the international body explicitly stated that El Salvador should not borrow money or issue debt or digital tokens linked to Bitcoin. President Bukele’s response? Defiance. He characterized the IMF’s continued pressure as mere “whining” and affirmed that El Salvador would continue its Bitcoin buying strategy.

Since March 1st alone, El Salvador has added 13 more bitcoins to its holdings, despite the IMF’s recommendations. According to the El Salvador Bitcoin Office website, the nation’s treasury now holds over 6,105 bitcoins, valued at over $511 million at the time of this report.

On a brighter note for the crypto-enthusiastic nation, El Salvador is emerging as a potential crypto hub. Several major crypto firms are signaling their intent to relocate to the country, drawn by its pro-Bitcoin stance. Bitfinex Derivatives announced their move from Seychelles to El Salvador on January 7th, and stablecoin issuer Tether followed suit on January 13th, declaring El Salvador as their new headquarters.

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Source: cryptopolitan.com