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Event File CRYPTO Bitcoin

El Salvador’s Bitcoin Experiment Turns Five With Global Legacy

1 reports · First detected 2026-08-12 · Last active 2026-08-12

El Salvador’s Congress approved the Bitcoin Law on June 9, 2021, and put it into effect on Sept. 7, making the country the first to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender alongside the US dollar. President Nayib Bukele pitched the policy as a way to expand financial inclusion, cut remittance costs and attract investment. The government backed the rollout with a $150 million trust and offered $30 in Bitcoin to users of its Chivo wallet.

Domestic adoption remains modest five years later. Central Reserve Bank data show El Salvador received $5.06 billion in remittances during the first half of 2026, but only $35.4 million, or 0.7%, arrived through digital-asset wallets. Congress amended the law on Jan. 29, 2025, ending mandatory private-sector acceptance as the government pursued a 40-month, $1.4 billion IMF program. Even so, the experiment elevated Bitcoin from a niche asset into a subject of national reserve and monetary-policy debate worldwide.

All Coverage

1 original reports
COINTELEGRAPH.COM 2026-08-12
El Salvador’s Bitcoin experiment turns 5: ‘It was for us, not them’

The Backstory

The history behind this event
El Salvador’s Crypto Remittances Stall at 0.7% Five Years On2026-07-31 · 1 reports · similarity 0.83

El Salvador became the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender on Sept. 7, 2021, after lawmakers approved the Bitcoin Law that June. President Nayib Bukele’s government also launched the Chivo wallet, pitching the cryptocurrency as a way to cut remittance fees and broaden financial access. Five years on, limited public trust in crypto assets and entrenched payment habits have kept adoption well below official ambitions.

Central Reserve Bank of El Salvador data show the country received more than $5 billion in remittances in the first half of 2026, with just $35.4 million, or 0.7%, settled through cryptocurrency channels. Banks and traditional money-transfer companies still handled more than 84% of the flows. Under a $1.4 billion IMF program approved on Feb. 26, 2025, the government made Bitcoin acceptance voluntary and began unwinding public-sector participation in the Chivo wallet.

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