I've noticed that more and more people are interested in how to send money in cryptocurrency to their loved ones abroad. And it’s logical — traditional banks just rip you off with fees. Sending a thousand pounds from the UK to the US through a bank? Prepare to pay 10-15 pounds in fees, and you'll have to wait several business days. It’s just madness.

Meanwhile, crypto solves this problem in just a few minutes. I remember an example from Reddit where a guy sent a payment via an ETH address and received USDC with a fee of $0.008869. Two seconds for everything. Compare that to Western Union, where they charge $10-12 for $200, plus another 1-2 percent for currency exchange manipulations. Complete robbery.

There’s also another case where someone needed to urgently send money home for repairs. I checked all options — everywhere the same: PayPal demands about 10%, money transfer systems take 3-5 percent plus 2-5 days of waiting. I used Stellar, and the cost was laughably low. Even accounting for entry and exit from crypto, the total amount was much lower.

Why does this work? Because blockchain removes intermediaries. No banks, no SWIFT, no intermediate fees. Direct transfer from sender to receiver. On Solana, for example, the average fee is about $0.00025, and confirmation takes roughly five seconds. It’s incomparable to the traditional system.

How is this practically done? First, you need to choose an exchange — preferably one with a good reputation and low fees. Fund your account with fiat, buy cryptocurrency (preferably stablecoins like USDT or USDC to avoid volatility). Then get the recipient’s wallet address, double-check it — this is critical, mistakes are irreversible. Enter the amount, select transaction speed (higher fee — faster confirmation), send. The money will arrive within minutes.

Currently, in 2026, prices are roughly: Bitcoin around $80,650, Ethereum about $2,320. But for transfers, it’s better to use stablecoins — they don’t fluctuate, and the recipient will get exactly what you sent.

By the way, a historic moment: on May 22, 2010, Laszlo Hanyecz bought two Papa John’s pizzas for 10,000 bitcoins, which back then were worth $25. Today, that would be more than most people have in their accounts. No one back then imagined that crypto would become a way to send money across borders.

This is especially relevant for regions where banking infrastructure is weak or nonexistent. Refugees, migrants in the UAE or Singapore sending money to family in India or the Philippines — for them, it’s a salvation. Instead of 10 percent in fees and a week of waiting, they get an instant transfer with almost no costs.

Important points when sending: always use trusted platforms, enable two-factor authentication, carefully verify addresses, consider gas fees of different blockchains. Bitcoin is slower and more expensive than newer networks like Solana or Polygon. If you’re sending stablecoins, volatility won’t be an issue.

The recipient can cash out crypto in several ways: sell on an exchange for fiat, use a crypto ATM (if available nearby), or simply spend the cryptocurrency if the vendor accepts it. The spread between buy and sell prices is dynamic but usually less than traditional system fees.

Of course, there are challenges. Network congestion can slow down transactions — in such moments, it’s better to pay a higher fee for priority. An error in the wallet address will lead to loss of funds, so it’s better to copy addresses or use QR codes. And yes, taxes. In the US, cryptocurrency is considered property, so when its value increases, capital gains tax applies. In the UK, it’s also taxed if the annual exemption is exceeded. But in Singapore and the UAE, the tax situation is more favorable. The main thing — keep records of all transactions.

In general, if you don’t know how to send money via cryptocurrency abroad yet, it’s no longer difficult. The technology exists, platforms are available, and fees are minimal. Old banking systems are simply not competitive. When El Salvador officially adopted Bitcoin in 2021, it was symbolic — the country chose the future of payments. And now, this future is accessible to everyone who wants to send money more efficiently than through Western Union or SWIFT.