El Salvador turns to stablecoins for remittances with new Sivar app

Stablecoins take over remittance role in El Salvador

El Salvador is adding a new stablecoin-based payments app for remittances, announced Sept. 29, a sign that dollar-backed digital tokens are taking on the payments role Bitcoin once promised to fill.

Stablecoins are dollar-backed digital tokens, meaning their value is tied to the U.S. dollar. The new app, called Sivar, lets people in the US send money to El Salvador using stablecoins, while recipients receive the value in an in-app wallet.

Key numbers and facts

• About $9 billion flowed into El Salvador through remittances in 2025, with roughly 92% coming from the US, according to Coinbase.
• An estimated 1.6 million Salvadorans depend on remittance payments, according to Coinbase.
• Sivar charges a flat $2 per transfer regardless of size.
• Recipients can convert their balances to cash at more than 1,000 locations across El Salvador.
• More than 25,000 Salvadorans had signed up before the launch, according to Coinbase.

What Coinbase says about Sivar

Sivar was developed by Modveon and uses Coinbase infrastructure. Transactions between verified users settle in stablecoins on Base, a blockchain network built by Coinbase.

Coinbase says Sivar hides the crypto infrastructure from users, so people who are not familiar with digital assets can send and receive money without managing a blockchain transaction themselves. Coinbase Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad said the economics work because the transfers move entirely in digital dollars.

MoneyGram and Tether also bring stablecoins

Sivar is entering a market that was already taking shape. MoneyGram expanded its USDC-based stablecoin service into El Salvador in April through a partnership with the Stellar Development Foundation, Crossmint and Circle. Customers can receive money into a dollar-denominated digital balance and later withdraw cash through MoneyGram locations.

El Salvador was the first new Latin American market added after MoneyGram launched the product in Colombia. The company said the broader system spans almost 500,000 retail locations across more than 200 countries and territories.

Tether, the largest stablecoin issuer, moved its headquarters to El Salvador in 2025 after receiving authorization as a stablecoin issuer and digital-asset service provider. Tether has also integrated USDT with Bitcoin's Lightning Network, an effort designed to combine dollar payments with Bitcoin-based settlement.

What the announcements say

The company announcements cited in the article say:

• Sivar is developed by Modveon and uses Coinbase infrastructure.
• Sivar charges a flat $2 fee per transfer.
• Cash withdrawals are available at more than 1,000 locations in El Salvador.
• More than 25,000 users signed up before launch.
• MoneyGram's stablecoin service launched in El Salvador in April.
• Tether relocated its headquarters to El Salvador in 2025.

Why this matters

The shift matters because El Salvador's original Bitcoin push required consumers to interact with a volatile asset whose dollar value could change between receipt and spending. Stablecoins keep 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.

Bitcoin remains part of the country's strategy, but its role has narrowed. The government's Bitcoin Office marked the fifth anniversary of adoption this month by highlighting its Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, Bitcoin education in public schools, training for 80,000 civil servants, Bitcoin Zones and its CUBO+ developer program.

CryptoSlate writes that the next test is whether stablecoins can win everyday adoption while Bitcoin remains a reserve and political symbol.

Sources

• CryptoSlate