“The adoption of Bitcoin (BTC) is working in El Salvador, it is just a matter of patience.” These are the words that Román Martínez, co-founder of the Bitcoin Beach project in El Salvador, addressed to the audience of the Adopting Bitcoin event .
Martínez, known as one of the pioneers of the global circular economy, is trying to respond in this way The criticism of the BTC introduction as legal tender in the Central American country. Most of them focus on the fact that Salvadorans hardly use the digital currency and interest in Bitcoin is low.
“I see people who come to visit and say that the project isn’t working, but many of them don’t know what we were like before and how everything developed,” asks Martínez.
He notes that even many people in the country do not realize the progress that is being made thanks to cryptocurrency. “What’s happening is this We are creating the Bitcoin standard. “El Salvador is building this learning and it doesn’t happen overnight.”
To demonstrate the progress made thanks to Bitcoin, Martínez sheds light on the way the Bitcoin Beach citadel was built has inspired people everywhere. He emphasizes that the team’s idea was always to inspire.
“The goal is not acceptance, but rather empowering people to realize their potential,” he says. And for this Bitcoin is a means, the best money, with the ability to transform.
Based on this goal, the Bitcoin Beach team plans to create a Brotherhood of Citadels, a project that will bring circular economies together and that, he assures, will be announced soon.
It also challenges Bitcoiners not so much to emulate the El Zonte projectbut rather about working on the best ideas based on the needs of each community.
We see the same problems we see here that Bitcoin solves in other countries. It’s not about reproducing ourselves, it’s about teaching people that Bitcoin can provide a better life and help them overcome their problems.
Román Martínez, co-founder of Bitcoin Beach
Ismael, a young Salvadoran who changed his life with Bitcoin
As an example of the life changes that can be created with cryptocurrency, Martínez He appeared accompanied by Ishmaela 21-year-old Salvadoran born in El Zonte and now a Bitcoin educator.
Ismael says he is also a surfing coach. He learned about BTC when he was 17 years old and the experience changed his perspective on life:
Our culture has always been to live day to day and spend whatever you get. The concept of saving didn’t exist in my head and no one had taught me anything about finances. My life changed because when I found out about Bitcoin, I started thinking about my future and how I should manage my money. I understood that the future is in my hands and to control it I need tools like BTC.
Ismael, Bitcoin educator in El Zonte
Ismael and Román talk about how difficult it was to explain to people what they could do with Bitcoin.
He 98% of people in El Zonte did not know about cryptocurrencyThey also had no access to banking services or other forms of digital payments. Then, as happened to Ishmael, many people in El Zonte began to change their mentality. With Bitcoin, they learned to save, pay with BTC and exchange it for dollars when necessary.
Both Martínez and Ismael, despite coming from different generations, claim that BTC was the tool that allowed them to achieve their dreams. It happened to him both for them and for other children and young people in the city. And this despite the fact that the effects were initially underestimated.