El Salvador received $35.4 million in crypto remittances in the first half of the year, accounting for 0.7% of the $5 billion remittance market.

According to Odaily, data from the Central Bank of El Salvador shows that in the first half of 2026, the country received over 5 billion US dollars in overseas remittances, of which only 35.4 million US dollars were settled through cryptocurrency channels, accounting for about 0.7% of the total remittance volume. Although this represents a 39.1% increase compared to 25.4 million US dollars during the same period in 2025, cryptocurrency has still not become the main remittance method in El Salvador. Currently, banks and traditional remittance companies still hold over 84% market share.

Since El Salvador passed the Bitcoin law in 2021, the government had hoped to reduce cross-border remittance costs through crypto payment tools such as Chivo Wallet, but data shows that the penetration of digital assets in actual remittance scenarios remains limited.

El Salvador passed the Bitcoin law in 2021, designating Bitcoin as legal tender. The government-backed Chivo Wallet is gradually ceasing operations in accordance with a credit agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).