«I no longer use dollars, but bitcoin and with the rise of BTC I bought new products»

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By TP

Key facts: Inhabitants of the Salvadoran citadel have held bitcoin for more than three years. Despite the skepticism of Bukele's opponents, more Salvadorans are learning to use digital currency. The fact that bitcoin (BTC) reached a new all-time high last week has been a source of joy for many people around the world who have been holding (saving) the digital currency for several years. Among those people are the inhabitants of El Zonte, the beach town in El Salvador that pioneered the adoption of bitcoin where most businesses accept BTC payments since 2020, long before President Nayib Bukele declared it legal tender. This fact has allowed them to enjoy the benefits of their long-term revaluation. This is what some of the merchants say when consulted by journalists who go to town to inquire about the use of bitcoin in El Salvador. A curiosity that increased now that the price of BTC is in a new bull run which led it to exceed USD 73,000 a few days ago. This, after having fallen to almost USD 15,000 in 2022 in the middle of a crypto winter that lasted for more than a year. One of the testimonies is that of María Aguirre, a merchant who sells food and soft drinks and who tells how the number of sats that she acquired four years ago for USD 2,200 dollars are now worth around USD 19,000. This is a substantial appreciation that comes from long-term hodl, and it left her with profits that she took advantage of before the current price correction occurred. «With the profits that the increase left me, I bought a washing machine, a stove and a refrigerator,» says the woman, acknowledging that bitcoin has brought greater “economic stability”. Something similar is related by Blanca Castillo, who runs a business in which she sells artificial flowers and natural juices. She claimed to be delighted with bitcoin and the financial gains it has brought her, despite the fact that still afraid of sudden price changes.

Blanca Castillo, Bitcoin Beach trader, talks about the benefits that bitcoin has left her. Source: AFP. «When you see that the value is going to go down, you feel that you are going to suffer losses… she gets scared. “You have to be alert to their movements,” said Castillo, referring to the volatility of cryptocurrencies. Exactly one of the characteristics What bitcoin detractors question most and that has served as an excuse for many regulators to classify it as a high-risk asset. The favorable comments are replicated among other merchants in the Salvadoran town. “It has been fantastic and I am very happy,” commented another of the sellers, while the owner of a restaurant, a 70-year-old woman, revealed that save everything you earn in bitcoins. “I don't spend it because I have difficulty transacting cryptocurrencies over the phone.” The increase also benefits those who did not withdraw the USD 30 in BTC that the government gave away through the state portfolio Chivo Wallet in 2021, whose value has increased by around 50%.

The price of bitcoin was around USD 40,000 in September 2021, when El Salvador decreed BTC as legal tender. Source: CoinMarketCap.

Salvadorans show more interest in bitcoin

Stories like the one these merchants tell They have been repeated for a long time among many inhabitants of El Zonte. The town, located about 45 minutes south of the capital San Salvador, ended up becoming Bitcoin Beach, the citadel that inspires thousands of bitcoiners. Its circular economy model is replicated throughout the world, and its population, largely unbanked, learned to use bitcoin. This is demonstrated by the testimony of Ismael, a native of El Zonte who presented at a conference last year. «Before we did not know about cryptocurrencies and we did not have access to banking services or any other form of digital payment. Then, with bitcoin we learned to save, to pay with BTC and to exchange it for dollars when necessary,» said the young man who is now a bitcoin educator. The above occurs, despite the criticism made by those who reject the El Salvador government's strategy with digital currency, mostly opponents of Bukele. There are constant publications in media that They question whether BTC is legal currency, based on studies that show its little use. However, these same reports reveal some positive changes. As reported by BitcoinDynamic, the most recent survey by the José Simeón Cañas Central American University determined that more than 10% of the country's population used bitcoin during 2023. The figures indicate an increase in the number of people who claimed to have paid for goods and services with BTC. Results that point to greater interest in cryptocurrency as a means of payment.