El Salvador Shifts to Stablecoins for Remittances Amid Bitcoin Experiment
El Salvador is turning to stablecoins for remittances as part of its pioneering Bitcoin experiment, which initially promised cheaper cross-border payments. The country's new national community and payments app, Sivar, will use Coinbase infrastructure to settle transfers in stablecoins on Base.
The rollout marks an evolution for a country that made Bitcoin legal tender in 2021. Five years later, El Salvador still promotes Bitcoin but is increasingly deploying dollar-backed tokens for payments.
Sivar abstracts the crypto infrastructure from users, allowing people unfamiliar with digital assets to send and receive money without managing the underlying blockchain transaction themselves.
The opportunity is substantial in a country where money sent home by Salvadorans abroad remains a major source of household income. About $9 billion flowed into El Salvador through remittances in 2025, with roughly 92% originating in the US, Coinbase said.
Sivar will charge a flat $2 per transfer regardless of size, targeting a market where conventional remittance fees can eat into smaller payments.