Bitcoin Beach is a Bullseye Destination For the Crypto-Curious

Bitcoin Beach in El Salvador is a fascinating place to visit if you like both travel and cryptocurrency like Bitcoin.

The small beach town of El Zonte in El Salvador has been dubbed “Bitcoin Beach.” While utterly poor, the area does get a good flow of surfing tourists, who keep the local economy going.

But that’s not all. In 2019, El Zonte got a lucky strike. American Mike Peterson, an economist by trade, moved there to try to help the area level up economically.

Peterson says an anonymous donor approached him. This donor had a fortune in Bitcoin that he wanted to use for good. But he didn’t believe that the current system in El Zonte could see the donation used to its full potential. 

Said Peterson, “The stipulation was you can’t just convert it into dollars because they believe the actual usage of bitcoin would be what would benefit the people. And so for me, it was, like, wow, this is somebody that wants to actually see a circular economy generated using bitcoin and they’re willing to actually put the funds behind it.”

Bitcoin Beach Gets Fired UP

Peterson and other community leaders created the “Bitcoin Beach Initiative.” They created dozens of much-needed jobs in the area, and they paid them in Bitcoin.

Playa El Zonte became one of the first places in the country to accept Bitcoin as a payment method and inspired the country’s adoption of Bitcoin as a legal tender.

And that’s not all.

The local economy is heavily dependent on tourism, particularly surfers from United States, Canada, Europe, and Brazil. Now, as well as surfers, the crypto-curious are flowing in, to see how they can spend their crypto in the real world while on holiday abroad.

President Nayib Bukele cited the town as an inspiration for the law recognizing the cryptocurrency as one of El Salvador’s two official currencies, alongside the U.S. Dollar.

The President and the surfers behind Bitcoin Beach are hopeful that the adoption of cryptocurrency will lead to improvements in infrastructure and lift the country out of poverty.

In fact, Bitcoin tourism is now a thing in El Salvador, with tax incentives being offered to Bitcoin millionaires and billionaires to invest in the country. While some locals in Bitcoin Beach are excited about the adoption of cryptocurrency, others are more hesitant, with concerns about its volatility.

Despite these challenges, the experiment in Bitcoin Beach is an interesting one that is being watched by other countries around the world.

Other Advantages of Moving to Crypto

Outside of tourism, El Salvador uses Bitcoin to save hundreds of millions on international money transfers. Crypto is a cheaper method of sending money home from abroad. In fact, 20% of the country’s GDP is from diaspora money flowing back to the country.

It remains to be seen how successful the Bitcoin Beach project will be in achieving its goals, but it is certainly an interesting and innovative initiative. And it is definitely somewhere worth visiting if you are curious about using your crypto in real life.

There are a few ways that you can use cryptocurrency when travelling:

-As a store of value: You can use cryptocurrency as a way to store and transfer value while traveling, especially if you are going to a country where the local currency is unstable or not widely accepted.

-For payment: Some merchants and service providers now accept cryptocurrency as a form of payment, so you may be able to use it to pay for things like hotels, meals, and souvenirs while you are traveling.

-For ATMs: Some Bitcoin ATMs around the world allow you to withdraw local currency in exchange for cryptocurrency. This can be a convenient way to get cash while you are traveling, especially if you are in a place where it is hard to exchange your local currency.

-For remittances: If you are traveling abroad and want to send money back home to your family, you can use cryptocurrency to make the transfer. This can be faster and more cost effective than traditional methods such as wire transfers or money orders.

Also, be sure to take this crazy-amazing luggage with you!