Village in El Salvador Turns its Back on Fiat in Favor of Bitcoin

Foundering fiats, a global pandemic and an anonymous donor’s generosity have led to the creation of a bitcoin (BTC)-powered economy in a village in El Salvador, the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. Per an article written by a Forbes contributor, a village named El Zonte – population 3,000 – has “developed a proposal for a bitcoin circular economy which factored in remittances, tourism, public service and small business” as a response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The project was kickstarted by an anonymous donor who found a “forgotten thumb drive loaded with bitcoin” purchased when BTC 1 could be snapped up for around USD 5-10. And this what has been happening in El Zonte this summer: In related news, peer-to-peer crypto exchange Paxful – also popular in South America – said that it has “added 1 million users per year” since its inception, and claimed that troubled fiats are sending thousands of new customers to crypto platforms.

Timeline of Bitcoin