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El Salvador‘s ‘Bitcoin Week‘ Attracts Crypto Adherents for Partying and Preaching
Bitcoin bulls, undeterred as ever, travelled to the first country to legalise the cryptocurrency for a week of events and revelry.
The Bitcoin community descended on El Salvador this week, the world's first country to legalise the cryptocurrency, reiterating their extremely bullish stance on the digital currency while shrugging aside the digital coin's recent decline from record highs.
They were in El Salvador as part of "Bitcoin Week," a series of events anchored by two conferences and highlighted by a slew of parties and impromptu get-togethers that allowed industry insiders and crypto devotees alike to declare their allegiance to the digital token they regard as a global game-changer.
Wearing hats with the Bitcoin symbol and T-shirts with the crypto mantra "buy the f*cking dip," believers who travelled to the Latin American country stated that they are unconcerned about recent price swings and are in it for the long haul.
The week's highlight was the biennial Latin America Bitcoin and Blockchain Conference, which concluded on Friday after three days.
On Wednesday night, hundreds of Bitcoin proponents danced to Latin rap music in front of a live music stage outside the event, downing cans of Pilsener and Golden, two popular local beers, as they condemned the US currency and warned of impending hyperinflation.
"To me, the dollar looks antiquated," said Jose Schierano, 51, owner of an ice cream delivery business who was wearing white shorts and a black shirt that read "Bitcoin Country" in reference to El Salvador.
Schierano stated that he travelled to LaBitConf from Cordoba, Argentina, to hear panellists speak. He also attended a different conference earlier this year in Miami, at which El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele announced that Bitcoin will become legal cash. The Argentine peso has depreciated by 16 percent against the dollar this year, and severe foreign currency regulations in Argentina limit Schierano to withdrawing $200 in American money per month, he said. "Bitcoin provides a way around this, and you can see it in other places as well, such as Venezuela or Turkey, where central banks lack credibility." Bitcoin is dubbed shitcoin by critics, but the true shitcoins are all the other fiat currencies."
Businesses ranging from Bitcoin ATM providers to cryptocurrency exchanges have put up stalls outside El Salvador's capital city's Teatro Presidente. Several attendees planned trips to El Zonte, a seaside hamlet about an hour away that was the birthplace of Bitcoin in El Salvador.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin has largely fallen in value as a result of the festivities. It fell every day except Friday and closed the week around 16% below its all-time high of over $69,000 set earlier this month. The revellers seemed unfazed, with conference speakers estimating that the price may rise to $400,000 or perhaps $1 million in the following years.
According to Jose Luis Guillen, CEO of Coincaex, a Guatemala-based Bitcoin exchange, the recent decline should not bother investors who want to hold their tokens. "I'm not concerned about the price in the long run," he explained. "Bitcoin is currently in a 13-year bull market." Guillen said he has witnessed an increase in clientele over the last year as inflation in the United States has quickened, and that his customers are becoming older, now falling into the 45-to-65 age range rather than the 20- and 30-somethings he initially observed.
Jerri Schick, who travelled from Galveston, Texas to attend the event, said she has witnessed an increase in the cost of products and services in the United States this year, making it more expensive to maintain her recreational vehicle park. She began purchasing Bitcoin in February and aims to purchase between $20 and $100 of the cryptocurrency each day to help combat inflation. Since she began trading, her portfolio has increased by 40%, she stated.
"I believe Bitcoin is the escape hatch for what is about to happen, including the collapse of the US currency, the development of bioweapons, and extinction-level events," she explained.
Jessie Rodriguez, a Colombian computer programmer, stated that he is still a buyer of Bitcoin, which he began experimenting with in 2014. While Colombia does not face hyperinflation on the scale of regional counterparts Venezuela or Argentina, the country's peso is worth less than half of what it was seven years ago, eroding his savings. Now, when he performs work for international clients, he requests payment via Paypal and promptly converts his foreign earnings to Bitcoin.
"I've gotten to the point where I'm not even keeping dollars anymore," he explained. "Bitcoin was initially maligned and no one accepted it as a form of payment, but here in El Salvador, you can use it to pay at Starbucks or get pupusas. It's a dream come true, and I hope it occurs in Colombia as well."
On Sept. 7, El Salvador legalised Bitcoin as legal cash, and the government introduced the Chivo digital wallet, which came pre-loaded with $30 worth of Bitcoin. El Salvadorans rapidly began speculating, purchasing dips and selling rallies with their wallets, which enable easy translation to US dollars. El Salvador's Economy Minister Maria Luisa Hayem stated during the conference that the move places the six-million-strong country "at the cutting edge of technology."
Samson Mow, the chief technology officer of Blockstream, a blockchain technology startup, is even pushing the government on issuing a $1 billion sovereign blockchain bond. He met with government officials this week and claims they were open to his offer to sell a 6.5 percent 10-year bond denominated in dollars. According to his idea, the government would convert $500 million of the initial sale into Bitcoin and, after five years, utilise the revenues from any cryptocurrency appreciation to pay investors a dividend. The method would be implemented on the Liquid network, enabling fast settlement and assisting the government in avoiding the costs associated with bank middlemen and a traditional issue, he explained.
"A Bitcoin-based financial system is unavoidable," Mow stated. "You do not require the World Bank or the IMF." Bitcoin is going to save the day. This is the only opportunity we have to mend the financial system."
Bitcoin bulls undoubtedly feel this way, and in El Salvador, they see the start of a global phenomenon they hope will expand.
"Money is changing throughout the world," Pablo Gonzalez, co-founder of Bitso, a cryptocurrency exchange based in Mexico through which Bukele's government purchased 700 Bitcoins, explained. "El Salvador made a really courageous move in expediting that money transition. They are a driving force behind the Bitcoin revolution."
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By Crypto PiratesBitcoin bulls, undeterred as ever, travelled to the first country to legalise the cryptocurrency for a week of events and revelry.
The Bitcoin community descended on El Salvador this week, the world's first country to legalise the cryptocurrency, reiterating their extremely bullish stance on the digital currency while shrugging aside the digital coin's recent decline from record highs.
They were in El Salvador as part of "Bitcoin Week," a series of events anchored by two conferences and highlighted by a slew of parties and impromptu get-togethers that allowed industry insiders and crypto devotees alike to declare their allegiance to the digital token they regard as a global game-changer.
Wearing hats with the Bitcoin symbol and T-shirts with the crypto mantra "buy the f*cking dip," believers who travelled to the Latin American country stated that they are unconcerned about recent price swings and are in it for the long haul.
The week's highlight was the biennial Latin America Bitcoin and Blockchain Conference, which concluded on Friday after three days.
On Wednesday night, hundreds of Bitcoin proponents danced to Latin rap music in front of a live music stage outside the event, downing cans of Pilsener and Golden, two popular local beers, as they condemned the US currency and warned of impending hyperinflation.
"To me, the dollar looks antiquated," said Jose Schierano, 51, owner of an ice cream delivery business who was wearing white shorts and a black shirt that read "Bitcoin Country" in reference to El Salvador.
Schierano stated that he travelled to LaBitConf from Cordoba, Argentina, to hear panellists speak. He also attended a different conference earlier this year in Miami, at which El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele announced that Bitcoin will become legal cash. The Argentine peso has depreciated by 16 percent against the dollar this year, and severe foreign currency regulations in Argentina limit Schierano to withdrawing $200 in American money per month, he said. "Bitcoin provides a way around this, and you can see it in other places as well, such as Venezuela or Turkey, where central banks lack credibility." Bitcoin is dubbed shitcoin by critics, but the true shitcoins are all the other fiat currencies."
Businesses ranging from Bitcoin ATM providers to cryptocurrency exchanges have put up stalls outside El Salvador's capital city's Teatro Presidente. Several attendees planned trips to El Zonte, a seaside hamlet about an hour away that was the birthplace of Bitcoin in El Salvador.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin has largely fallen in value as a result of the festivities. It fell every day except Friday and closed the week around 16% below its all-time high of over $69,000 set earlier this month. The revellers seemed unfazed, with conference speakers estimating that the price may rise to $400,000 or perhaps $1 million in the following years.
According to Jose Luis Guillen, CEO of Coincaex, a Guatemala-based Bitcoin exchange, the recent decline should not bother investors who want to hold their tokens. "I'm not concerned about the price in the long run," he explained. "Bitcoin is currently in a 13-year bull market." Guillen said he has witnessed an increase in clientele over the last year as inflation in the United States has quickened, and that his customers are becoming older, now falling into the 45-to-65 age range rather than the 20- and 30-somethings he initially observed.
Jerri Schick, who travelled from Galveston, Texas to attend the event, said she has witnessed an increase in the cost of products and services in the United States this year, making it more expensive to maintain her recreational vehicle park. She began purchasing Bitcoin in February and aims to purchase between $20 and $100 of the cryptocurrency each day to help combat inflation. Since she began trading, her portfolio has increased by 40%, she stated.
"I believe Bitcoin is the escape hatch for what is about to happen, including the collapse of the US currency, the development of bioweapons, and extinction-level events," she explained.
Jessie Rodriguez, a Colombian computer programmer, stated that he is still a buyer of Bitcoin, which he began experimenting with in 2014. While Colombia does not face hyperinflation on the scale of regional counterparts Venezuela or Argentina, the country's peso is worth less than half of what it was seven years ago, eroding his savings. Now, when he performs work for international clients, he requests payment via Paypal and promptly converts his foreign earnings to Bitcoin.
"I've gotten to the point where I'm not even keeping dollars anymore," he explained. "Bitcoin was initially maligned and no one accepted it as a form of payment, but here in El Salvador, you can use it to pay at Starbucks or get pupusas. It's a dream come true, and I hope it occurs in Colombia as well."
On Sept. 7, El Salvador legalised Bitcoin as legal cash, and the government introduced the Chivo digital wallet, which came pre-loaded with $30 worth of Bitcoin. El Salvadorans rapidly began speculating, purchasing dips and selling rallies with their wallets, which enable easy translation to US dollars. El Salvador's Economy Minister Maria Luisa Hayem stated during the conference that the move places the six-million-strong country "at the cutting edge of technology."
Samson Mow, the chief technology officer of Blockstream, a blockchain technology startup, is even pushing the government on issuing a $1 billion sovereign blockchain bond. He met with government officials this week and claims they were open to his offer to sell a 6.5 percent 10-year bond denominated in dollars. According to his idea, the government would convert $500 million of the initial sale into Bitcoin and, after five years, utilise the revenues from any cryptocurrency appreciation to pay investors a dividend. The method would be implemented on the Liquid network, enabling fast settlement and assisting the government in avoiding the costs associated with bank middlemen and a traditional issue, he explained.
"A Bitcoin-based financial system is unavoidable," Mow stated. "You do not require the World Bank or the IMF." Bitcoin is going to save the day. This is the only opportunity we have to mend the financial system."
Bitcoin bulls undoubtedly feel this way, and in El Salvador, they see the start of a global phenomenon they hope will expand.
"Money is changing throughout the world," Pablo Gonzalez, co-founder of Bitso, a cryptocurrency exchange based in Mexico through which Bukele's government purchased 700 Bitcoins, explained. "El Salvador made a really courageous move in expediting that money transition. They are a driving force behind the Bitcoin revolution."
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