The International Monetary Fund and El Salvador continue to engage in regular discussions that include assistance on bitcoin related matters, a Fund spokesman said on Thursday.

The talks include "authorities' advancement in the compilation of statistics regarding bitcoin use and other information related to El Salvador's adoption of bitcoin as a legal tender," said Gerry Rice, a Fund spokesman, in a scheduled press conference.

The Fund has in the past urged El Salvador to reverse the legal tender status assigned to the cryptocurrency in September, and Rice said Thursday on the subject "we have made our views clear."

Also being discussed are the pace and composition of fiscal consolidation, anti-money laundering issues, fiscal transparency and accountability on the use of public funds.

Bitcoin has lost nearly half of its dollar value since El Salvador officially adopted it, adding to investor concerns over its ability to pay back its debt.

(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos and David Lawder)