Data from the Central Bank of El Salvador for the first half of 2026 show that of more than $5 billion in remittances received, only $35.4 million moved through digital asset channels.
Five years after the Bitcoin Law came into force – approved in 2021 under President Nayib Bukele – remittance data from El Salvador provide a measure of the experiment’s outcome. According to statistics from the Central Bank of El Salvador, in the first half of 2026 only $35.4 million out of a total of more than $5 billion received from abroad was sent through digital asset channels, equal to 0.7% of the total.
Total remittance volume rose from $4.84 billion to $5.06 billion compared with the same period in 2025, an increase of $219.2 million. Remittances via digital assets grew from the $25.4 million recorded in the first half of 2025, but their share of the total remained below 1%. Traditional channels – banks and money transfer operators – intermediated more than 84% of volumes.
One of the most recurring arguments in the government’s narrative in favour of Bitcoin adoption was the possibility of reducing transaction costs for Salvadorans living abroad. Initial estimates pointed to potential savings of up to $400 million per year, roughly equivalent to the fees charged by operators such as Western Union. Five years on, that objective has not translated into a reallocation of flows.
Remittances in cash carried in person by visitors accounted for 3.8% of the total in the first half of 2026, a share higher than that of digital channels.
