Coinbase facilitates low-cost transactions between the U.S. and El Salvador
@Modveon is expanding its Sivar platform using @Coinbase infrastructure and the @Base Layer 2 network to give people in the United States a cheaper, faster way to send money to El Salvador. T
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AnonymousCryptoCompass newsroom
September 30, 2026
2 min read
NEWS
CryptoCompass editorial visual for markets coverage.
@Modveon is expanding its Sivar platform using @Coinbase infrastructure and the @Base Layer 2 network to give people in the United States a cheaper, faster way to send money to El Salvador. The move brings a flat $2 transfer fee to a remittance corridor that has long been dominated by percentage-based commissions.
A $9 Billion Corridor, Ripe for Disruption
Remittances are the lifeblood of El Salvador's economy. According to data from El Salvador's Central Reserve Bank, remittances totalled $8.2 billion in the first ten months of 2025 alone, up 18.2% year-on-year. The World Bank estimates these flows account for roughly 24% of El Salvador's GDP, making the cost of sending money home a direct economic concern for hundreds of thousands of families.
Traditional percentage-based fees on a corridor of this size translate into hundreds of millions of dollars lost to intermediaries every year. By replacing that model with a flat $2 fee per transfer, Sivar effectively removes the penalty on larger transfers and makes the service far more competitive for everyday users.
Stablecoins Step In Where Bitcoin Left Off
The Sivar platform sits within a broader shift in El Salvador's approach to digital payments. Bloomberg reported that President Nayib Bukele's administration is building a government-backed app with Modveon that will let Salvadorans send and hold digital dollars, including for remittances, using Coinbase's Base network. The pivot comes five years after El Salvador made Bitcoin legal tender, an experiment that never gained meaningful traction for everyday payments.
Dollar-backed stablecoins sidestep Bitcoin's volatility, giving recipients a predictable value on arrival. Routing those transfers through Base, a Layer 2 network, keeps transaction costs low and settlement times short, precisely the conditions needed to compete with legacy wire services and money-transfer operators.
The Sivar model is a practical demonstration of what Layer 2 infrastructure can do for financial inclusion. Rather than treating blockchain as a speculative instrument, it applies the technology to a clear, high-volume use case where cost savings are immediate and measurable. If the platform scales as intended, it could pressure traditional remittance providers to rethink their own fee structures on the U.S.-El Salvador corridor.
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