El Salvador's Crypto Remittances Collapse to New Lows, Despite Attracting Tether, Bitfinex

El Salvador's cryptocurrency remittances, as a proportion of total remittances, have fallen to new lows, according to data from the Banco Central de

El Salvador's experiment with cryptocurrency remittances has hit a new low, with data from the Banco Central de Reserva de El Salvador showing that these remittances now account for less than 1% of the total.

This marks a significant decline from the peak period in 2021, when the law making bitcoin (BTC) legal tender was originally passed. At that time, cryptocurrency remittances were surging, driven by Salvadorans abroad using bitcoin to send money back home due to the lower fees and faster transaction times.

However, the enthusiasm for cryptocurrency remittances seems to have waned, with the total amount of family remittances from “cryptocurrency digital wallets” in December being just $7.22 million.

This lull in cryptocurrency remittances comes despite El Salvador still attracting a variety of crypto firms, with executives of Tether and Bitfinex purchasing large quantities of real estate in the country.

Tether and Bitfinex have also sought and received a variety of licenses in the country, including for the stablecoin Tether and for the securities exchange Bitfinex Securities.

However, the Nayib Bukele administration has agreed to limit some of the BTC-related activities it's engaged in, including no longer accepting BTC for tax payments, in order to enable loan extensions from the International Monetary Fund