Sivar, a stablecoin-based service supporting remittances between El Salvador and the United States, has been launched nationwide. Accounts differ between related agencies and the operator over whether the Salvadoran government runs it directly.

On Oct. 1 (local time), CoinPost reported that U.S. technology company Modveon announced the nationwide launch of Sivar on Sept. 29. Modveon said it develops, operates and expands the service under a five-year contract signed with El Salvador public agency AAB. Modveon’s official materials also introduce Sivar as the first nationwide service operated under a five-year contract with the Salvadoran government.

Coinbase provides the payments infrastructure. User wallets, U.S. funding top-ups and the remittance API are handled using Coinbase technology, and transactions are settled in stablecoins on Ethereum layer-2 Base. Sivar is a Modveon product, and Coinbase provides the payments infrastructure. More than 25,000 people signed up for the service before the official launch.

Remittances between the United States and El Salvador carry a flat processing fee of $2 per transaction. The service supports transfers from the United States to El Salvador and in the opposite direction, with a minimum remittance amount of $25. Separate fees may apply for top-ups via card or mobile payments, or for cash withdrawals in El Salvador. Wallet-to-wallet transfers between users in El Salvador are free.

Explanations differ over government involvement. The National Bitcoin Office said the government has no plans to launch or operate bitcoin, cryptoasset or stablecoin wallets, rejecting reports that describe Sivar as a government wallet. It also said the state’s direct operation ended after it transferred operating rights for the existing state-run Chivo wallet to the private sector. Modveon, in contrast, is emphasizing that it is a cooperative project with the government based on its contract with public agency AAB.

The remittance market is large. El Salvador received $9.99 billion in remittances from overseas in 2025, and funds from the United States accounted for 92.4 percent. Modveon is presenting reduced cost and processing time for existing international remittances as Sivar’s main competitive edge.

Sivar is planning to expand beyond remittances into a comprehensive digital platform connecting local communities, public agencies and shops. The boundary between direct government operation and private service provision is unclear, so there is a need to clarify the operating structure and scope of responsibilities going forward.