Crypto
El Salvador Taps Stablecoins for Remittance Market with Sivar App
El Salvador has launched Sivar, a state-supported app that enables eligible US users to send digital dollars to verified recipients in El Salvador. The app charges $2 per transfer and settles payments on Coinbase's Base network.
The rollout puts remittances at the center of a new national digital service in El Salvador. In 2025, nearly $10 billion was sent from abroad to Salvadoran families, according to central bank figures. Sivar uses stablecoins for transfers, which is five years after the country adopted Bitcoin as legal tender.
The launch does not signal a sale of El Salvador's Bitcoin holdings, and the IMF has stated that documented reserve growth since its first review came from private donations, with no public funds used.