El Salvador has launched Sivar, a national payments and community app built by startup Modveon on Coinbase's Base network. The app allows U.S. residents to send remittances to El Salvador for a flat $2 fee, settling transactions in stablecoins. This shift to dollar-backed digital assets marks a significant pivot from President Nayib Bukele's 2021 Bitcoin experiment, following low domestic adoption and regulatory reforms mandated under a $1.4 billion IMF loan program.
Development and launch of Sivar
- ▪More than 25,000 Salvadorans signed up for the Sivar app during its phased rollout prior to the official launch on September 29, 2026
- ▪Modveon signed a five-year agreement with El Salvador's Bitcoin Fund Management Agency (AAB) to develop and run the Sivar app day to day
- ▪El Salvador's government and the startup Modveon launched Sivar, a national community and payments app that allows U.S. residents to send remittances to El Salvador for a flat $2 fee
Technical infrastructure of Sivar
- ▪Sivar users receive a non-custodial wallet funded via Coinbase Onramp with debit cards, and recipients can withdraw cash at over 1,000 locations in El Salvador
- ▪Sivar's backend payments infrastructure runs on Coinbase APIs and settles peer-to-peer transfers in stablecoins on Base, Coinbase's Ethereum layer-2 blockchain network
Remittances to El Salvador
- ▪An estimated 1.6 million Salvadorans depend on remittance payments sent from Salvadorans living abroad
- ▪El Salvador received approximately $9 billion in remittances in 2025, with roughly 92% of those funds originating from the United States
Stablecoin remittance services
- ▪A Bank of Italy study found that stablecoin remittances were no cheaper than traditional banks, with transaction costs reaching up to 9%
- ▪MoneyGram expanded its USDC-based stablecoin service into El Salvador in April 2026 through a partnership with the Stellar Development Foundation, Crossmint, and Circle
Low cryptocurrency adoption in El Salvador
- ▪A University of Central America survey found that approximately 92% of Salvadorans had not used Bitcoin in 2024
- ▪An International Monetary Fund study found that only about 1.75% of remittances to El Salvador moved through cryptocurrency wallets
Policy changes under the IMF program
- ▪The International Monetary Fund reported in September 2026 that El Salvador has stopped using public resources to purchase Bitcoin, with subsequent reserve increases coming from private donations
- ▪Under a $1.4 billion International Monetary Fund program, El Salvador amended its Bitcoin Law in January 2025 to make merchant acceptance voluntary and bar tax payments in Bitcoin
- ▪El Salvador transferred majority ownership and operational control of the state-sponsored Chivo wallet to a private operator as part of its International Monetary Fund program concessions
Debatable claims
- ▪Stablecoin-based apps are more cost-effective for remittances than traditional financial services
- ▪The IMF went too far in forcing El Salvador to scale back its Bitcoin Law
- ▪El Salvador's pivot to stablecoins marks the failure of its Bitcoin experiment
- ▪El Salvador should not rely on private U.S. crypto infrastructure for its national payments
Story comments
Loading comments…