The Central Reserve Bank (BCR) reported that remittances through cryptocurrency wallets fell 18.9% in the first four months of this year.

The agency has begun documenting the flow of remittances on these channels since Bitcoin’s adoption as legal tender in September 2021. One of the government’s main promises was that remittances from abroad would be cheaper than money transfer companies.

From January to April, $32 million was transferred to cryptocurrency wallets such as Chivo Wallet. This represents his 1.2% of all remittance flows sent in the first quarter. However, this figure is $7.5 million less than the $39.4 million registered in the same period in 2022.

The BCR confirms that Salvadorans abroad prefer to send money through remittance companies, which account for 60% of all remittances, followed by banking institutions at 36.2%.

Remittances are also being received in cash or in pockets, totaling $63.2 million as of April last year, while phone recharge remittances totaled $5.7 million.