PLAYA EL ZONTE, June 14 – The El Salvadoran beach town of El Zonte is visibly poor, with dirt roads and a faulty drainage system.
Take Zulma Rivas.
President Nayib Bukele cited Bitcoin Beach as inspiration for his push to adopt the cryptocurrency nationally.
She rarely uses bitcoin, she says, because like many in the town, her battered smartphone struggles with the payments app.
A 2020 study by Microsoft and the Interamerican Development Bank concluded that El Salvador had the second lowest internet penetration of 20 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.
“It’s like a mirage,” he said.
The Salvadorans say the project has changed the lives of El Zonte residents by allowing them to save, invest and obtain profits in a town with no nearby bank branches.
Peterson last year told the Go Full Crypto podcast that 90% of families in the town of 3,000 people had made a transaction using bitcoin, with a boost from the pandemic.
“You showed that this is not just for rich people.
Handing out bags of pineapple, watermelon, mango and cucumber to customers in a beach hut, Rivas insisted many of her fellow vendors still prefer U.S.
Blanca Ponce, 30, making tortillas by the beach, said she does not accept bitcoin because she does not make enough money for a smartphone or internet data plan.
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