Moved there a year and a half ago, spending time between the beach (mostly El Zonte), the mountains and the city (San Salvador).
Bitcoin is often seen as marginal or a flop, and something mostly used by foreigners, by many. And yet, depending on where you are in the country and/or if you put in some effort, it's possible to use bitcoin for almost everything. Including buying land, building a house, renting and buying surfboards, renting or buying cars, motorcycles and related accessories/gear, food/restaurants/drinks, etc. Even for paying rent if you find the right owner.
The bear market of 2022 hurt adoption. With the price action since Nov 2022 to now in early 2024, things are slowly improving again. Price and profit is how most people first become interested. It's becoming -- occasionally, but more frequently -- easy to onboard businesses. Often new places I want to shop at, that haven't yet accepted bitcoin, begin to do so with my help: they install Blink on their phone and are quickly good to go. A few weeks later, some then ask how to start with cold storage. It does take some time, but can be worth it. Even in places where no one seems to use bitcoin, scenic restaurants in the mountains for instance, I've onboarded some places (and made friends there). It's possible.
Thank you for this story! Very interesting. That's pretty much how I envisioned the situation.
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