The adoption of cryptocurrency, especially Bitcoin, for remittances has failed to surge in El Salvador, even with the support of President Nayib Bukele’s administration. According to data provided by the Central Reserve Bank, only 1.1% of all remittances sent to the country from January to August 2024 include cryptocurrency.
Report: Adoption for Remittances Reach Only 1.1% in El Salvador
While El Salvador has positioned itself as one of the countries with the highest cryptocurrency adoption, where bitcoin has been legal tender since 2021, crypto usage has failed to gain traction in various use cases. In the case of remittances—one of the applications in which President Bukele sought to introduce crypto due to its cost-saving and ease-of-use advantages—Salvadorans have not adopted bitcoin and crypto, even with government promotion.
According to the latest family remittances statistics report by the Central Reserve Bank, El Salvador’s central bank, Salvadorans still prefer to use the U.S. dollar as a base for sending and receiving remittances. The report found that only 1.1% of all the remittances sent to El Salvador included any cryptocurrency, showing that a majority uses other methods.
This 1.1% represents $57.4 million out of the $5.46 billion sent to El Salvador from January to August 2024. Remittance-focused companies still retain Salvadorans’ trust, being responsible for 58.3% of these transactions while traditional banks account for 37.9% of the total remittance volumes. The average crypto remittance reaches $260.
The report confirms crypto remittances have been faltering since 2022 when $84.8 million were received by Salvadorans in digital currency. In 2023, this number was reduced to $59.5m and now in 2024 it only reached $57.4, confirming a declining trend across multiple years.
The Salvadoran government worked to incentivize the use of crypto for payments and remittances, even funding Chivo, a national crypto wallet, and offering an airdrop for citizens to familiarize themselves with bitcoin.
However, even President Bukele acknowledged that crypto adoption has failed to pick up steam in El Salvador, but highlighted other benefits that adopting bitcoin as legal tender brought to the country.