El Salvador’s government has partnered with Modveon, a Palo Alto-based startup backed by Coinbase Ventures, to launch Sivar, a national digital platform designed to connect citizens with verified communities, businesses and public institutions while providing cross-border payment services. The launch comes five years after the country adopted Bitcoin as legal tender.
Under a five-year agreement with Salvadoran public institution AAB, Modveon will operate and expand Sivar and its digital services, the company said Tuesday.
Founded in 2025, Modveon is developing identity-focused digital infrastructure for governments and citizens. The company raised $10 million in seed funding in February, with participation from Coinbase Ventures, Firebolt Ventures, Humla Ventures, Strategic Cyber Ventures and other investors and angel backers.
Sivar is built on Modveon’s Verified Operating System, which integrates verified identity, trusted connections, communities, payments and AI-powered services. Salvadoran users can verify their accounts with a national identity card, join communities based on geography or interests, follow official government announcements, and participate in live discussions and town halls.
The platform also introduces a cross-border payment service aimed at eligible U.S. residents sending money to verified recipients in El Salvador. Sivar charges a flat $2 fee for eligible transfers, regardless of the amount sent. The service integrates with Coinbase, allowing users to fund payments through Coinbase Onramp using U.S. bank accounts or debit cards. Transfers are settled in stablecoins on Base, Coinbase’s Ethereum layer-2 network.
The stablecoin payment feature adds another dimension to El Salvador’s digital-asset strategy, extending beyond its high-profile Bitcoin legal-tender initiative into digital payments and identity-based services. However, the launch of Sivar does not itself establish how widely the platform or its payment service will be adopted.
According to Modveon, Sivar was refined through a pre-launch rollout involving more than 25,000 Salvadorans. The company’s next steps will involve operating and expanding the platform under its agreement with AAB, while its reach and use of stablecoin-based remittances remain important measures to watch.
