The volume of remittances to Latin America and the Caribbean (LATAM) reached a record $174 billion in 2025, with stablecoins emerging as the main driver of growth in this market.
According to a LATAM market study presented by Claudia Wang, Head of PBD and Global Brand Head at Bybit, remittance volumes in the region increased from $161 billion in 2024 to $174 billion in 2025. At the same time, major FinTech companies and crypto services intensified competition in the region’s cross-border payments market.
The study found that remittance inflows to Mexico totaled $61.8 billion, down 4.5% YoY, marking the first decline in 11 years. Meanwhile, Central American countries recorded strong growth in incoming remittances:
- Honduras: +19%;
- El Salvador: +18%;
- Guatemala: +15%;
- Colombia: +13%;
- Dominican Republic: +10%.
The main factor behind these shifts is linked to U.S. migration policy. Rising deportation risks led migrants from Central America to send money home more frequently and more quickly. As a result, total remittances to Central America exceeded $55 billion, up more than 20% YoY. South America received around $36 billion, while the Caribbean accounted for $21 billion.
According to the report, total crypto transaction volume in Latin America between July 2022 and June 2025 reached approximately $1.5 trillion. At the same time, 71% of financial institutions in the region already use stablecoins for cross-border payments.
The share of stablecoins in crypto transfers in Latin America reached 40% in 2025. Analysts attribute this growth to increasing demand for digital dollar assets used for savings and remittances.
The study shows the highest stablecoin adoption in Argentina, where USDT and USDC account for over 70% of all crypto purchases. Researchers describe this trend as “digital dollarization,” as users increasingly view stablecoins as an alternative to dollar savings amid inflation and currency restrictions.
In Colombia, stablecoins account for around 52% of crypto purchases, driven by peso devaluation and limited access to dollar bank accounts. In Mexico, the figure reached about 40%, largely fueled by remittances from the United States. According to Banco Central do Brasil, around 90% of the country’s total crypto turnover is linked to stablecoins.
The report also highlights a mismatch in how FinTech companies target users. While many focus on younger audiences, the typical crypto remittance user in the region is a migrant aged 40–60, sending between $131 and $648 per month to family members. Over 80% of these funds are spent on essentials such as food, housing, and transportation.
The rise of digital tools is already reshaping traditional remittance providers. Western Union’s share of the U.S. → Latin America corridor fell from 29% in 2020 to 16.8% in 2024. Meanwhile, Remitly increased its share from 14% to 22.7%. Bitso is estimated to process around 10% of U.S. → Mexico remittances using stablecoins, while Felix Pago handled over $1 billion in transactions via USDC and Mexico’s SPEI system.
The average cost of sending money to the region is around 6% of the transaction value, but with crypto infrastructure it drops to 1–2%. For a migrant sending $300 monthly, this translates into annual savings equivalent to a family’s monthly grocery budget.
An additional driver of digital adoption is a U.S. federal tax introduced in 2025, imposing a 1% fee on cash remittances. It affects roughly half of senders and further incentivizes the shift toward crypto and alternative payment methods, which are largely exempt from the fee.
In 2025, Latin America saw rapid growth in digital payments overall, with crypto transaction volume in the region exceeding $27 billion, and more than 90% of that volume attributed to USDT and USDC stablecoins.
