{"id":13876,"date":"2026-09-29T19:18:47","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T19:18:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=13876"},"modified":"2026-09-29T19:18:47","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T19:18:47","slug":"el-salvador-targets-9-billion-in-transfers-but-chooses-stablecoins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=13876","title":{"rendered":"El Salvador targets $9 billion in transfers, but chooses stablecoins"},"content":{"rendered":"

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El Salvador is turning to stablecoins for remittances, further separating everyday payments from the country’s pioneering Bitcoin experiment.<\/p>\n

Sivar, a new national community and payments app developed by Modveon, will use Coinbase infrastructure to settle transfers in stablecoins on Base, according to a Sept. 29 announcement. Users in the US can fund transfers with debit cards, while recipients in El Salvador receive the value through wallets embedded in the app.<\/p>\n

The rollout marks an evolution for a country that made Bitcoin legal tender in 2021 partly on the promise that the cryptocurrency could make cross-border payments cheaper. Five years later, El Salvador still promotes Bitcoin, but dollar-backed tokens are increasingly being deployed for payments.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Coinbase Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad said the economics work because the transfers move entirely in digital dollars.<\/p>\n

Sivar targets a $9 billion remittance corridor<\/h2>\n

The opportunity is substantial in a country where money sent home by Salvadorans abroad remains a major source of household income.<\/p>\n

About $9 billion flowed into El Salvador through remittances in 2025, with roughly 92% originating in the US, Coinbase said. An estimated 1.6 million Salvadorans depend on those payments.<\/p>\n

Sivar will charge a flat $2 per transfer regardless of size, targeting a market where conventional remittance fees can eat into smaller payments. Transactions between verified users will settle in stablecoins on Coinbase’s Base network, while recipients can convert their balances to cash at more than 1,000 locations across El Salvador.<\/p>\n

More than 25,000 Salvadorans had signed up before the launch, according to Coinbase. Each user receives a non-custodial wallet, while Coinbase provides the onramp, transfer APIs, and settlement infrastructure.<\/p>\n

That approach differs from the government’s original Bitcoin push, which required consumers to interact more directly with a volatile asset whose dollar value could change between receipt and spending.<\/p>\n

Stablecoins preserve the dollar denomination Salvadorans already use while allowing settlement over blockchain networks, removing one of the main frictions that complicated Bitcoin’s use as everyday money.<\/p>\n

MoneyGram and Tether had already moved in<\/h2>\n

Sivar is entering a stablecoin payments market that was taking shape before its launch.<\/p>\n

MoneyGram expanded its USDC-based stablecoin balance into El Salvador in April through a partnership with the Stellar Development Foundation, Crossmint and Circle. The service allows customers to receive money into a dollar-denominated digital balance, hold it there, and later withdraw cash through MoneyGram locations.<\/p>\n

El Salvador was the first new Latin American market added after MoneyGram initially introduced the product in Colombia. The company said the broader system spans almost 500,000 retail locations across more than 200 countries and territories, giving stablecoins a bridge into communities where cash remains dominant.<\/p>\n