How "Bitcoin Beach" Is Helping El Salvador with Crypto

El Zonte is known as “Bitcoin Beach.” Located in El Salvador, the town has developed a reputation as being one of the leading digital currency regions out there. The city worked to make bitcoin legal tender long before El Salvador ever decided that the currency would be utilized throughout the nation.

El Zonte Is Helping El Salvador Push BTC Forward

El Zonte has come to the aid of Nayib Bukele, the president of El Salvador, and is pushing the bitcoin agenda and ensuring that people know what the currency is and how to use it. There have been many protests from residents over the past week or so who claim that bitcoin is being thrust upon them unfairly, and that the currency will make their nation prone to illicit behavior such as money laundering and terrorist financing.

However, El Zonte has been empowering bitcoin for some time, and has used the digital asset for several purchases over the past few years. Residents are saying that the asset has garnered something of a demonic reputation amongst standard consumers, though this reputation is undeserved, and the currency can do a lot of good for El Salvador and those who call the nation home.

Roughly three years ago, several businesses in the area agreed to accept bitcoin payments given that tourists were big on paying for items and services with the asset. El Zonte is a surfing hotspot that attracts boarders from all around the world, and sometimes paying with BTC is a little easier than taking a trip to a foreign currency exchange.

The Bitcoin Beach project began through an anonymous BTC donation that stems back to 2018. Things ultimately took a heavier turn from there, as now several residents and employees who work and live in the area accept bitcoin salaries and engage in BTC transactions. Construction worker Gilberto Valenzuela commented on the situation, saying in an interview:

We are all paid in bitcoin, and for us it’s better.

A Canadian tourist who at press time chose to be anonymous and simply goes by the name “Simon” also threw his two cents into the ring, saying:

I pay for almost everything here in bitcoin, so it is actually very, very easy.

Making BTC Legal Tender

Now, El Salvador is taking a page from the Bitcoin Beach book and is looking to make BTC a national currency. El Salvador is the first country in the world to take this step, though the maneuver has come with a few ups and downs. The World Bank, for example, scoffed when the country asked for help implementing its bitcoin agenda, claiming that BTC was too volatile and risky.

The nation has long depended on the U.S. dollar to remain financially stable, but now it looks like the Central American country is thirsty for some monetary independence.

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