Central bank data from El Salvador shows the country received more than $5 billion in remittances in the first half of 2026, but only $35.4 million was settled through cryptocurrency channels, equal to about 0.7% of the total. The figure was up 39.1% from $25.4 million a year earlier, yet crypto remains a minor payment rail in the remittance market. Banks and traditional money transfer companies still control more than 84% of the market. The data adds fresh context to El Salvador’s bitcoin policy after the country made BTC legal tender in 2021 and promoted tools such as the state-backed Chivo Wallet to cut cross-border transfer costs. Even so, actual adoption in remittance use cases has stayed limited. Chivo is also being gradually wound down under the terms of the government’s credit agreement with the International Monetary Fund, or IMF.
Data from El Salvador’s central bank shows the country received more than $5 billion in remittances in the first half of 2026, with only $35.4 million settled through cryptocurrency channels. That put crypto’s share of total remittances at about 0.7%.
The crypto remittance total was up 39.1% from $25.4 million in the same period of 2025. Even with that increase, cryptocurrency has not become a main remittance method in El Salvador. Banks and traditional money transfer companies still account for more than 84% of the market.
Crypto use in remittances remains limited
Since El Salvador passed its Bitcoin Law in 2021, the government had promoted crypto payment tools such as Chivo Wallet in an effort to reduce the cost of cross-border remittances. The country also made bitcoin legal tender that year.
The latest figures show digital assets still have limited penetration in actual remittance use. The government-backed Chivo Wallet is now being gradually phased out under El Salvador’s credit agreement with the International Monetary Fund, or IMF.
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