The Central Bank of El Salvador reported that cryptocurrency remittances failed to reach up to 1% of all volumes received during the first half of 2026. Only $35.4 million out of the over $5 billion received by Salvadorans was settled using digital currencies between January and June 2026.
Key Takeaways
Despite a 39.1% annual rise, crypto handles just 0.7% of El Salvador’s remittances, showing lackluster adoption.Salvadorans still rely on traditional channels, with banks and firms processing over 84% of all funds.The state-sponsored Chivo wallet is winding down under an IMF deal, ending hopes of saving $400M in fees.El Salvador, referred to as the bitcoin country, still lacks adoption of digital currencies in the remittances arena.
In comparison, cash remittances, which are handed over personally when senders travel from another country to El Salvador to visit their relatives, rose to 3.8%. Even so, crypto remittance numbers are significantly higher than those reached during H1 2025, when these registered $25.4 million in volumes, a rise of 39.1%.
Total remittances for the period also rose from $4.84 billion to 5.06 billion, a rise of 219.2 million (4.5%). Remittance companies and banks constitute the preferred channels for Salvadorans to send money home, intermediating over 84% of the volume received from abroad.
Since El Salvador passed the so-called Bitcoin law in 2021, crypto remittances have failed to gain traction, with Salvadorans abroad still relying on traditional remittance channels to send money.
Remittances were one of the key elements touted by the Salvadoran government for crypto adoption, allowing citizens to save money and achieve faster settlement times using digital assets.
Nonetheless, five years since bitcoin was declared legal tender, digital assets only account for 0.7% of all volumes received by Salvadorans.
