Juno News - True North goes to the town entirely run on Bitcoin - Bitcoin Beach, El Salvador

00:00:00.000 We are here at Bitcoin Beach.

00:00:14.360 Yes, that is actually the name of this place.

00:00:16.940 This small rural surfing village in El Salvador

00:00:20.740 was the first community to legalize Bitcoin as official tender.

00:00:25.280 And the reason for that is because several years ago,

00:00:28.000 an anonymous American began donating to local NGOs in this area in Bitcoins.

00:00:34.540 Since then, this community has fully embraced cryptocurrency.

00:00:37.940 Their entire ecosystem, the entire community is running a Bitcoin ecosystem.

00:00:42.400 This area is where all the tourists happen to come.

00:00:45.300 That's where we've seen all these Westerners walking along the beach, 0.99

00:00:48.800 enjoying these resorts.

00:00:50.660 You can see all the way down the coast.

00:00:52.060 It really is a stunning area.

00:00:54.220 We're here right on the Pacific Ocean.

00:00:56.420 We're going to be speaking to the officials that run Bitcoin Beach,

00:01:00.280 speak to them about how the embrace of cryptocurrency has brought about more tourism,

00:01:06.120 made life better in this area,

00:01:07.620 and see just the general changes that have come about in El Salvador

00:01:11.840 with this unique embrace of Bitcoin,

00:01:14.920 one of the only countries in the world to legalize Bitcoin as official tender.

00:01:19.000 It's just a beautiful place.

00:01:20.520 It really is.

00:01:22.300 It's the kind of place, I think, that Westerners who come to El Salvador should see.

00:01:27.860 The city is interesting, but the city, San Salvador,

00:01:30.800 is like pretty much any Central American city.

00:01:33.340 Lots of poverty still, rundown infrastructure.

00:01:37.160 This, however, is beautiful.

00:01:40.140 Let's see what people have to say.

00:01:41.180 Let's see how Bitcoin has changed this community.

00:01:43.140 We know that this community was quite poor for a long time.

00:01:47.180 What does it look like now with the adoption of Bitcoin?

00:01:49.740 So I've been here the first time in 2021, so that was a long time ago.

00:01:54.140 And I've seen that there has so much been done here around here,

00:01:57.780 like all of the buildings, the little tiendas, the little shops that have like a new image,

00:02:02.160 a new logo and a new sign and stuff like that.

00:02:04.780 Or total plasters, like shopping centers being built around the street and the street being built

00:02:12.680 like it was a dirt road before sometime.

00:02:16.900 And it's just crazy to see this boom and like also tourism and people coming here.

00:02:22.880 Yesterday I talked to some Germans like that.

00:02:24.800 Three years ago that would have been strange to talk to some Germans, 1.00

00:02:27.960 but now people from all around the world are coming,

00:02:30.860 which is, I think, great for the locals because it creates more work for them,

00:02:37.400 more hotels who need like receptionists or cleaning personnel. 0.98

00:02:41.960 But also I think this has another side to it because things like,

00:02:47.380 I don't know if you noticed, like this huge building being built like beach side.

00:02:52.040 And I think what's important in all of this is that we have to respect the culture of the country

00:02:58.140 and we have to look into how things are being built

00:03:02.340 because there are some really nice and really luxurious hotels being built

00:03:06.060 on the other side of the river.

00:03:07.940 And they're just included into, I don't know, the mountains, the palm trees.

00:03:12.280 And if you just build like a whole white, big six, seven, eight stories thing around there, 0.91

00:03:18.340 it just doesn't fit to El Salvador and kind of how the people live here.

00:03:21.620 I mean, you've seen how it is here.

00:03:23.680 And I feel like that's just something that has to be considered in the future.

00:03:29.180 Roman, you are a local here and you're also influential in founding Bitcoin Beach.

00:03:34.540 Is that right?

00:03:35.180 Yes. I'm one of the founders. Yes.

00:03:37.900 And so take us through why you embraced Bitcoin

00:03:40.820 and why you wanted to, you know, turn your community around using Bitcoin.

00:03:45.000 I think we're Bitcoin Beach.

00:03:46.960 As you can see, we were already working in the community doing social developing project with the kids

00:03:53.640 because when we were kids here in this community, we didn't have really hope, you know.

00:03:59.460 We were thinking that we would leave this community.

00:04:03.080 And some people like Mike Peterson or Alex Ngoa, they put time in our life

00:04:10.800 and they help us to think in different, you know.

00:04:14.360 And they're teaching us English, teaching us about surfing.

00:04:18.880 So the project was that, you know, how we can change the mindset of the kids,

00:04:23.480 how we can make the kids thinking different, you know.

00:04:27.100 And so we start providing like tools, like how the kids can learn English,

00:04:32.060 can learn computer skills, how they can go to college if they want.

00:04:36.140 And then in 2019, we're receiving a donation of Bitcoin to be, to teach the community about money,

00:04:47.040 you know, about how fiat money works, you know.

00:04:49.820 And since that, we were running projects for the kids, like, you know, for cleaning the river,

00:04:57.120 cleaning the beach, for being good students.

00:04:59.120 They were rewarding in Bitcoins.

00:05:02.100 And that was like one place here called Mama Rosa.

00:05:04.960 That was the only place that was accepting Bitcoin in 2019.

00:05:08.520 And then the pandemic hit here.

00:05:11.340 And we start like, we give like a donation to,

00:05:17.560 we give a donation to much of the family here in Sonte.

00:05:22.520 We're onboarding into Bitcoin.

00:05:24.460 And that was really cool to see what, see Bitcoin as a tool, you know,

00:05:29.200 for when 90% of the people here were on banks.

00:05:33.660 Right.

00:05:33.840 That was what I was going to ask you next,

00:05:35.180 which is you were saying that before Bitcoin entered this community,

00:05:39.080 90% of the community didn't even have access to a bank account and they can't save money.

00:05:43.100 They're not really able to even use money in a proper way.

00:05:46.160 They just have to receive it and get rid of it.

00:05:48.360 So this is really transformational for your area.

00:05:51.840 And is this the first municipality in the world that has tried to adopt a full,

00:05:56.880 a circular Bitcoin economy?

00:05:58.960 Yeah, it was, there were some projects before Bitcoin Beach,

00:06:03.040 but they need, they didn't succeed.

00:06:05.360 And part of that was because I think the technology was not there.

00:06:09.560 Even us, you know, we were doing everything on chain for the people that know about Bitcoin,

00:06:14.900 know that Bitcoin have the main network on chain.

00:06:18.140 And then they have the second layer that we call Lightning Network, you know,

00:06:23.480 and Lightning Network was, it had been a great tool, you know, to onboarding more people.

00:06:29.780 Because when you pay, like when you, when you do micropayments and you come to buy a pupusa or a Coca-Cola,

00:06:37.620 it costs you pennies, you know, cents.

00:06:40.020 So that was like, that's why I think Bitcoin Beach have been one of, one of the first,

00:06:48.280 I would say was the first Bitcoin circular economy.

00:06:51.200 And for the people that doesn't know what the Bitcoin circular economy means,

00:06:54.560 it's a place where you can come and live in a Bitcoin standard, you know,

00:06:58.660 that you can earn, spend and save in Bitcoin.

00:07:01.760 And I think that that is so cool, you know,

00:07:05.660 to see how people that have been on banks for years, right,

00:07:10.220 not having access to the traditional banking system.

00:07:15.640 And now we all are part of Bitcoin, you know,

00:07:19.700 and how Bitcoin is inclusive and how Bitcoin is for everyone, you know.

00:07:23.900 And I think that, that, that's, that's the example that Bitcoin Beach proved and showed

00:07:29.360 that Bitcoin could be that, that, that tool.

00:07:31.980 But now we have a lot of communities around the world.

00:07:35.940 And don't remember that El Salvador made Bitcoin a legal tender in 2021.

00:07:41.120 And El Salvador become the first country to adopt Bitcoin as a legal tender.

00:07:45.620 And we are here in Bitcoin country.

00:07:47.920 And so people are being paid for their labor in Bitcoin.

00:07:51.080 You were saying that there's a lot of developments around here.

00:07:52.700 And people are being paid in Bitcoin and they're able to,

00:07:55.580 you're, you're able to pay in Bitcoin at local shops like this.

00:07:59.300 Yeah.

00:07:59.800 Can we try it out?

00:08:00.500 Let's see.

00:08:00.880 Let's try it out here.

00:08:01.680 Yeah.

00:08:02.200 Of course.

00:08:03.460 We're going to buy a water for Selena.

00:08:05.200 Come on.

00:08:05.520 Okay.

00:08:05.920 Yeah.

00:08:11.460 You, you want a water?

00:08:15.980 Yeah.

00:08:16.780 Water?

00:08:17.420 Sure.

00:08:17.700 Yes.

00:08:17.980 Yeah.

00:08:18.100 Yeah.

00:08:18.660 And can we use it on this?

00:08:22.500 Yeah.

00:08:22.820 Yeah.

00:08:23.000 Yeah.

00:08:23.260 Perfect.

00:08:25.160 Okay.

00:08:25.520 Gracias.

00:08:25.840 So, you know, this is really cool.

00:08:35.220 So, we put signs for all the business here in Bitcoin Beach.

00:08:39.980 That is, it's really easy to see for Bitcoiners that they can pay in Bitcoin.

00:08:44.220 And for a lot of business that didn't have a logo for their business, we create a logo,

00:08:51.280 you know, to give them, to train to bring them to the next level.

00:08:56.720 You know, that now, with a logo, they can do teachers, they can sell teachers, or they can

00:09:01.600 have their staff with, you know, teacher, do stickers, and feel like part of the economy.

00:09:09.960 Yeah, exactly.

00:09:10.800 Yeah.

00:09:11.120 Absolutely.

00:09:11.460 And more easy for people to see it as well, you know.

00:09:15.140 Yeah, absolutely.

00:09:16.200 All right, let's try it.

00:09:16.880 Yeah, let's try it.

00:09:17.520 Let's pay. 0.95

00:09:18.060 Pay for this now.

00:09:19.000 So, much of the, much of the business have this QR QR code, but this is for one of the

00:09:44.560 most popular wallet here in this Blink. So, if you have Blink, you can scan this QR code,

00:09:50.620 but you're going to pay from Moon to Bitcoin Beach, so they need to create the invoice in

00:09:56.900 their phone, you know.

00:09:57.900 Yep. Yep. Well, this is, this is brand new for us. And does, do a lot of people have access

00:10:06.520 to this technology here?

00:10:07.580 Three.

00:10:08.580 Okay.

00:10:09.480 Send, now you click send, scan here.

00:10:24.900 Send?

00:10:25.900 Yeah.

00:10:26.900 Look.

00:10:27.900 Okay, there we go. Amazing. All right.

00:10:32.160 Easy.

00:10:33.160 Very easy. So, a lot of people have access to the technology here. There's no, is, is there

00:10:38.360 a barrier still for locals to get the technology to be able to use the Bitcoin economy? How

00:10:42.700 does that work?

00:10:43.700 I think everyone does, right? That, that's the purpose of Bitcoin that is for everyone,

00:10:50.200 is open source. People only need to have like a smartphone with internet and they can download

00:10:57.120 any Bitcoin wallet, you know. But, you know, there's still challenge connectivity sometimes,

00:11:03.780 you know, you can buy internet and, or, or you go to some place and say, oh, my, my, my plan

00:11:10.120 of internet just aspired.

00:11:11.120 Right, right.

00:11:12.120 I need to rebuy internet. But, also, you know, some of the merchants, maybe are older and they

00:11:19.200 put some resistance thinking that they cannot understanding and use it, you know. But once

00:11:24.120 you see it, I always say like, remember when internet came and WhatsApp came and our grandparents

00:11:30.780 say, oh, I'm never going to touch this, I'm never going to use WhatsApp now. And now our

00:11:35.500 parents, our grandparents use WhatsApp, you know. So, it's just, it's just a matter of time,

00:11:41.120 you know.

00:11:42.120 And outside of Bitcoin Beach, I want to ask you about nationally. Obviously, the world

00:11:45.440 knows about El Salvador's decision to legalize Bitcoin and make it part of their economy.

00:11:50.840 How quickly do you think the, the majority of people in El Salvador will be able to adapt

00:11:55.720 and get on the, and get on Bitcoin?

00:11:58.020 I think, really quickly, there are so many initiatives in terms of education. One of the

00:12:06.480 huge projects that we work in this year with the Ministry of Education was that we're training

00:12:13.820 around 400 teachers from the public schools. And these 400 teachers, they're training around

00:12:20.720 7,500 students. And we did the pilot last year with 150 teachers. This year we did 400 teachers.

00:12:32.380 And this is a project that we're working with Bitcoin Beach, my first Bitcoin, and the Ministry

00:12:38.880 of Education. And there are so many other initiatives, you know, working in Bitcoin education, like, like

00:12:45.480 No Nation, like Plan B Network, like Kubo Plus, you know. So, I think this year, like a couple

00:12:55.040 more, a couple, I would say like a month ago, we were sitting with the Minister of Education

00:13:01.720 and the, and Stacey Herbert from the Bitcoin office, talking about what is the next plan for

00:13:09.480 the next year in terms of Bitcoin education from the Minister of Education, you know. And,

00:13:15.140 that is, it's crazy if you see it, because I don't think so there is another country where

00:13:23.800 the Minister of Education is sitting in a meeting, talking about Bitcoin, how to implement more

00:13:30.140 Bitcoin education into the, like, you know, education system in the public, into the public

00:13:38.080 school. So, I think it's just a matter of time, you know, that more people are getting into

00:13:46.740 Bitcoin, more merchants are seeing the benefit to getting into Bitcoin, you know. And places

00:13:52.360 like, have tourism, we're talking today about the Bitcoin tourism that we have now.

00:13:57.360 Yeah, that's what I was going to ask you, you're also involved in real estate in this

00:14:00.400 area. What have you noticed about, you know, investors come from the United States, maybe

00:14:06.400 some from Canada as well, seeing this place as a place that they want to invest in, they

00:14:11.180 want to get into the real estate market. Is that, is that largely because of the Bitcoin

00:14:15.360 initiatives? Oh, 100%. And that is something that you don't see in the media, the number

00:14:20.680 of people that actually are investing here, or that are having El Salvador as a plan B, or,

00:14:28.360 or a lot of people are approaching El Salvador as some startups, you know, that, early stage

00:14:33.700 startups, you know, that want to get, you know, everyone now real estate is booming. But also,

00:14:38.920 a lot of people are just coming here because El Salvador is Bitcoin country, and investing in real

00:14:44.800 stay is a way of supporting what El Salvador is doing, what the government is doing, you know.

00:14:49.800 And I think it's also a dream for many people that, to buy a house, buy a property in the

00:14:56.800 first country that make Bitcoin a legal tender, and, and it's also a dream to traveling with your

00:15:05.800 Bitcoin to purchasing a property, you know. And that's, I think is, it's really cool, and it's

00:15:13.800 happening a lot, you know, a lot of Bitcoiners that, maybe, you know, Bitcoiners are hard

00:15:22.300 to spend Bitcoin, right? Like, maybe they don't want to buy a real estate with Bitcoin in the

00:15:26.800 USA or in Canada, but a lot of people are willing to come here and buy a house, buy a property,

00:15:33.800 and paying with Bitcoin is way more easier, you know, than the traditional way, wiring, international

00:15:40.800 wires, you know. And, yeah, that's, that's exciting.

00:15:45.800 The last question I have for you, I want to know if we can just walk a little bit more

00:15:49.300 about the initiatives you're doing with youth, because that, that I think is really important.

00:15:52.800 So, in your presentation you gave to us just a short while ago, you mentioned the initiatives

00:16:00.300 that Bitcoin Beach is doing for youth, and not just teaching them English, but also letting

00:16:04.800 them learn how to surf, and getting them outside. Explain why you feel that's so important for

00:16:09.800 the community.

00:16:10.800 I think we have four pillars. We have the education pillar, where we give access to English classes,

00:16:20.800 computer classes, Bitcoin education. Like, you know, that is our, our, our, our pillar in

00:16:27.800 education, and we have the, the recreation pillar, where kids need to have fun, you know, need

00:16:33.800 to enjoy, have quality time, and this quality time can look like different for, for everyone,

00:16:39.800 right? And, and then we have the pillar of technology. Technology is expose kids with the new technologies

00:16:48.800 that are coming, like Bitcoin, like programming, like, you know, access to what is coming, what is

00:16:56.800 next, you know? And then we have the spirituality part, that the spirituality part is really important

00:17:03.800 for, for us. We're a Christian organization, but also understanding and trying to teach kids

00:17:11.800 that as you train in your mind, you read, you read for your brain, you do exercise for your

00:17:20.800 muscle, you eat healthy for your body, but it's what you do for your soul, you know? And understanding

00:17:27.800 that if you are good inside, if you have God, if you have love, you will be able to do more

00:17:33.800 for people. And I think it's something that we need to teach, but also for us, you know, not to

00:17:40.800 remember that, that the, the happiness is not coming from outside, but a lot of times it

00:17:47.800 has to come from your own way of thinking and how you feel, you know? And so that is really

00:17:55.800 important. And I think if we want to create kids that are like, like kids that will be the, the future,

00:18:03.800 you know, for, for the leaders, for our community, we need to fulfill all these areas, you know,

00:18:11.800 like education, Bitcoin education, recreation, you know, spirituality, quality time. And then you

00:18:19.800 will have like kids that have different tools in different areas that they can put together these

00:18:24.800 tools to do something good for their life. You know, I think El Sante will be the example

00:18:30.800 for many ways. I think it's a lot of, a lot of, a lot of communities will took example from

00:18:38.800 this. This is grand zero for Bitcoin, you know, but there are like a lot of, we have good surfing,

00:18:45.800 we have good community. It's a good mix of expats and, and, and locals. It's a good proof

00:18:53.800 of word that how Bitcoin can improve the life of the locals. And I think El Sante

00:19:00.800 that will grow a lot in the next, in the next years. And that open opportunities for, for,

00:19:07.800 for a lot of, of the locals, you know, in terms of, I would love to see the locals get involved

00:19:13.800 in the business, creating products, service, you know, with all, for all the people that

00:19:18.800 are coming and, and making our dreams comes true here without have to leave, you know.

00:19:24.800 So we're here with Mike Peterson, someone who is very influential in starting Bitcoin

00:19:28.800 Beach. You're a part of the team now. Why did you want to start Bitcoin Beach and why here?

00:19:33.800 Well, right here, I was living here, had been living here for, actually about a house here

00:19:38.800 20 years ago and been living here for the past 10 years. So we're already working in the community.

00:19:42.800 And so we saw firsthand a lot of the ways that the current financial system was kind of holding

00:19:47.800 people back in El Salvador, just the amount of money they spent trying to receive remittances

00:19:52.800 from the U.S., the lack of ability to engage with the banking system, lack of access to capital,

00:19:58.800 really no way to invest and save money. And so we felt like by switching to Bitcoin, it would give people

00:20:03.800 here a real opportunity to invest in the future and kind of think longer term.

00:20:07.800 And we understand that the president of this country used Bitcoin Beach and use the kind of the pilot project

00:20:14.800 you guys ran here as inspiration to change the change the laws in the country to embrace Bitcoin.

00:20:20.800 What has that change looked like on the ground with people, locals, businesses?

00:20:25.800 Yeah, obviously it always makes it easier if the government is, you know, on the same side of you than against you.

00:20:31.800 And we don't you know, we've never been someone that puts our faith in government.

00:20:36.800 We think Bitcoin is a grassroots effort. But obviously the government here gets it.

00:20:40.800 They see the bigger picture. And so they've been very helpful by by coming along.

00:20:44.800 And, you know, when they made the pronouncement that it was going to be adopted as legal tender,

00:20:48.800 that opened up a lot of opportunities for much broader expansion of what was happening in the small community here.

00:20:54.800 And it's brought an influx of capital and investors from around the world.

00:20:58.800 And now we're seeing an influx of of expats that are coming.

00:21:01.800 They want to kind of build a future here. They're bringing their families.

00:21:03.800 And so I feel like it's really kind of cemented El Salvador as as Bitcoin country.

00:21:09.800 How have you found the adoption of Bitcoin and using the technology?

00:21:14.800 Has it has it been quick or has it been a slow process?

00:21:17.800 Because we've we've, you know, paid for waters and other items using Bitcoin while we're here.

00:21:22.800 And it seems everybody has picked it up. But how has that been a big learning curve for the locals here?

00:21:27.800 Yeah, it's definitely a big learning curve. And it depends where you go in El Salvador.

00:21:30.800 I see here in El Zante where Bitcoin Beach started. It's very easy to use Bitcoin.

00:21:34.800 There's other places in the country you go where a lot of the stores won't accept Bitcoin.

00:21:38.800 And that's something that I expected because changing the whole way you interact with the financial system

00:21:44.800 and what you think of as money is something that's like takes time to change.

00:21:48.800 And so even for a lot of people in the Bitcoin space, they it took them, you know, five to ten years to really understand Bitcoin

00:21:55.800 and the power that it has to kind of transform the monetary system in the world.

00:21:59.800 And so we've kind of seen that same in El Salvador. There's early adopters or people who get it early.

00:22:03.800 But there's also lots of skeptics or people that they just they don't want to try any something new.

00:22:07.800 They you know, they have something that kind of works for them.

00:22:09.800 And so it takes them seeing how much better Bitcoin works a lot.

00:22:13.800 A lot of times they'll see their friends or they'll see businesses that embraced it the way they're prospering.

00:22:17.800 And so then that kind of brings them on board because they're like, oh, you know, I'm going to be left behind here.

00:22:22.800 And so, yeah, I think it's something that, you know, early on, I was like, oh, because it didn't happen overnight.

00:22:27.800 It was a failure. It's like, no, this is like a decade long transformation.

00:22:30.800 And I think we're actually ahead of schedule.

00:22:32.800 And do you think that's part of the reason why the country is is getting a lot of attention internationally?

00:22:39.800 A lot of people are trying to invest in this country.

00:22:41.800 Like what is the what is the big pull that is bringing people to this country to try to buy property, lay down their new lay down new roots?

00:22:50.800 What what is it that is pulling people in?

00:22:52.800 Yeah, I mean, when they when they adopted Bitcoin as legal tender, they totally turn the narrative about El Salvador on its head before it was known as like murder capital and crime and gangs.

00:23:03.800 And all of a sudden it became the country that was embracing a new monetary system, embracing technology.

00:23:08.800 And not only that, you had all these reporters descending on El Salvador, you know, doing stories about it.

00:23:15.800 And even the ones that were like negative and biased against Bitcoin showed pictures of the beautiful beaches and the smiling people.

00:23:21.800 And so it's brought this huge influx of tourists and and venture capitalists.

00:23:26.800 And then once they come here and they're on the ground, they see what an amazing country it is.

00:23:30.800 And so then they really want to invest. And so I think it's really gotten the word out of us.

00:23:35.800 Before people couldn't even point out El Salvador on a map.

00:23:37.800 They really did put El Salvador on the map.

00:23:39.800 And then, you know, now there's just so many natural beauties and and resources that El Salvador has, especially the people here.

00:23:49.800 And so once people see that, they realize, OK, Bitcoin was the thing that got them down here.

00:23:53.800 But there's so much more. And so, yes, we're seeing this huge transformation.

00:23:56.800 And it's just it's it's transformed just the outlook of the people that people used to be trying to get out of El Salvador to the US.

00:24:04.800 Now they see this influx of people from around the world and makes them think, oh, wow, maybe we're we are in the place.

00:24:09.800 We're lucky to be here. And so let's build a future here. Let's invest in our communities.

00:24:13.800 And so we've seen those kind of like animal spirits rise up and really transform the country.

00:24:17.800 All right. Well, we've had an incredible day getting to explore Bitcoin Beach, talk to the people that are organizing this transformation and as well,

00:24:26.800 talking to some people who are here studying and and investigating this area for their own purposes, because really it's a unique place.

00:24:34.800 As I said before, this is the first municipality in the world to legalize Bitcoin.

00:24:40.800 They have fully embraced Bitcoin. It is a circular Bitcoin economy here.

00:24:44.800 The people are being paid in Bitcoin. Businesses are conducting operations in Bitcoin.

00:24:50.800 Even the shacks on the side of the street here are selling waters with Bitcoin.

00:24:56.800 There is no barrier to access. There's no barrier to the technology that is required to embrace the Bitcoin ecosystem in this small municipality.

00:25:05.800 And one thing that is clear is that this municipality, El Zante Bitcoin Beach, is attracting all the tourists.

00:25:12.800 We were wondering where all the tourists were in San Salvador in the main city.

00:25:16.800 They're not there. They're here. They're here looking at the beautiful ocean, the hotels, this entire area is run on tourism.

00:25:24.800 And it's also important to note the transformations that have taken place in this area in Bitcoin Beach with the embrace of Bitcoin.

00:25:33.800 Before this city, before this municipality embraced Bitcoin, over 90% of the population here were unbankable.

00:25:41.800 They were not given bank accounts. They were too poor to have bank accounts.

00:25:45.800 They were excluded from the global financial system.

00:25:47.800 But with Bitcoin, everybody is included in the system.

00:25:51.800 They now have access to digital money. They now have the ability to save money.

00:25:55.800 This is transformational for this area.

00:25:58.800 And Bitcoin Beach as a test run for El Salvador to embrace Bitcoin has clearly proven to be successful.

00:26:06.800 Well, that wraps up our coverage here at Bitcoin Beach in El Salvador and our coverage from El Salvador.

00:26:13.800 Signing off from Bitcoin Beach for True North, Harrison Volk.

Juno News - November 26, 2024

True North goes to the town entirely run on Bitcoin - Bitcoin Beach, El Salvador

Episode Stats

Summary

Transcript