El Salvador: Crypto remittances grow 41.7% in first five months of 2026

El Salvador recorded $29.25 million in remittances received through cryptocurrency wallets from January to May 2026, marking a significant 41.7% increase compared to the same five-month period in 2025. Data from the Central Reserve Bank shows this growth represents an $8.61 million rise from the $20.64 million received in the first five months of 2025.

Despite this surge, crypto remittances constituted only 0.69% of the total $4.2 billion in general remittances received during the period. This is a slight increase from 0.52% in the first five months of 2025, when total remittances reached $3.97 billion.

The figures follow a notable decline in 2025, when total crypto remittances for the entire year dropped by 32.5% to $57.67 million. El Salvador became the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender alongside the U.S. dollar in September 2021, a key economic initiative of President Nayib Bukele. However, recent policy shifts, including an agreement with the International Monetary Fund, have seen the Legislative Assembly, dominated by Bukele's party, remove Bitcoin's status as legal tender and limit the state's role in its use and circulation, despite over 90% of the population reportedly rejecting its daily use.