SAN FRANCISCO — El Salvador’s government, in collaboration with Modveon, launched Sivar today, a new remittance application built on Coinbase’s Base network. The app allows Salvadorans to hold and send digital dollars, specifically targeting cross-border transfers from the U.S. to El Salvador.
Sivar charges a flat fee of $2 for each transfer, regardless of the amount. This pricing positions it as a low-cost option on the U.S.-El Salvador remittance corridor. Coinbase Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad said the flat fee is achievable because the money moves entirely in digital dollars.
The app represents the first national deployment of Modveon’s proprietary Verification OS. This system integrates identity, community services, institutional offerings and payments within a single application. Modveon, a Palo Alto-based firm, operates Sivar under a five-year agreement with the Government of El Salvador that began this month.
Core fund flows within Sivar rely on Coinbase’s infrastructure. Users can fund transfers directly using a debit card through Coinbase Onramp. The platform provides a non-custodial wallet within the app, and peer-to-peer transfers between verified users utilize Coinbase APIs.
Transactions settle in stablecoins on Base, Coinbase’s Ethereum layer-2 network, enabling fast, low-cost value transfers. Sivar’s terms of service identify Circle’s USDC as a supported stablecoin. Upon receipt, payees can cash out funds at more than 1,000 locations across El Salvador.
More than 25,000 Salvadorans signed up for Sivar prior to its launch. Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of El Salvador Adriana Mira said Sivar is “a step toward a more personal digital experience designed to meet the needs of Salvadorans, wherever they may be.”
El Salvador received approximately $9 billion in remittances from abroad in 2025, with U.S.-based Salvadorans accounting for about 92 percent of that total, according to Coinbase. This market highlights the focus on efficient cross-border payment solutions.
This initiative marks a shift from El Salvador’s earlier crypto policy, which made Bitcoin legal tender in 2021. Bitcoin payments did not achieve widespread adoption, with a staff member at a restaurant in El Zonte, known as Bitcoin Beach, saying the local Bitcoin payment scene was “dead.”
Under a 40-month loan program with the International Monetary Fund, El Salvador amended its Bitcoin Law in Jan. 2025. This amendment made merchant acceptance of Bitcoin voluntary and prohibited tax payments in the cryptocurrency. An IMF staff-level review in early Sept. indicated that majority ownership and operational control of the state-run Chivo wallet passed to a private operator, unlocking about $140 million in funds.
El Salvador’s public-sector Bitcoin stock remains near 7,764 BTC, with no new purchases reported. The country’s move to a stablecoin-centric remittance solution on Base reflects a pragmatic pivot to address the high volume of digital dollar flows.
Sivar’s launch follows Coinbase’s announcement a day earlier that it had deepened its partnership with Citi. This collaboration provides businesses with fiat-and-stablecoin payment rails, enabling Citi’s institutional clients to accept stablecoin payments through Spring by Citi. Coinbase named scaling stablecoins as a strategic priority in its fourth quarter 2025 shareholder letter.
