Hey Guys,
So I arrived in El Salvador a few days ago and wanted to share with you an initial report on what the situation is like in this country where Bitcoin was adopted as legal tender back in September.
First of all, you may be relieved to know that El Salvador lifted all covid restrictons a few weeks ago, so you can enter the country without a vaccine passport or a covid test. There is no quarantine requirement and they will not force you to install a "contract tracing" tracking app on your phone. The immigration officer I got was very friendly and even asked me about Japan when he saw the stamp in my passport.
You will notice Bitcoin ATMs setup in the international airport where you can buy and sell Bitcoin by providing a phone number. At immigration you must buy a $12 tourist entry card, and it was encouraging to see you can actually pay for it with Bitcoin!
The place I first stayed hasn't integrated Bitcoin yet (they are working on it), but most service people are willing to accept it as a tip because they already have the Chivo wallet installed on their phones. I think the government declaring it as legal tender and airdropping $30 to every citizen is what made this a reality. The great thing is that you don't need to go through the tedious process of showing people how to install a Bitcoin wallet and can simply move to the payment step.
The Chivo wallet accepts a digital form of USD as well as Bitcoin. Make sure the receiver has BTC selected or you will get an "invalid QR code" error message when trying to send them Bitcoin.
So far the El Salvadorean people have been very warm, welcoming ,and friendly. The locals who I've spoken to about Bitcoin have been supportive of the decision to make it legal tender in the country.
Until next time. Enjoy the rest of your holidays...
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Nice. Keep us updated. Maybe some photos to, so we can see how the country looks like. El Salvador is such a good example in the world right now, with everything happening there, from Bitcoin to Corona pandemic. I hope they just don't kill the president like they did with JFK.
They are definitely setting an example for the rest of Latin America, and I expect their Bitcoin "experiment" will turn out quite well. More photos coming your way :)
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I always wonder what countries would do for people who just don't have a smart phone. I know there aren't many people like that, but to force people to install apps on their phone makes me wonder what they'd do if someone just didn't have a phone. I wish I could get rid of mine sometimes. They're wonderful in some ways, and absolutely awful in many others.
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I've yet to run into someone, even in Central America, that didn't have a smartphone (You can get cheap Android ones for around $100). However, cash will still remain an option until crypto is widely adopted. People can also form self-sustaining communities to avoid technology if they really want to. Thanks for your thoughts.
Nice information. The government is doing a good job. The citizen suppose to be happy.
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I believe a better cover picture for this article would be the thumbs up Chivo ATM photo at the airport. Sincerely, the photographer :)