Based on the number of merchants now accepting bitcoins in Berlin, you might think this article is about the German capital. Rather, it is a small, picturesque mountain town in El Salvador with a population of 20,000 people.
How there came to be over 100 merchants accepting bitcoin in a 6 month period is an interesting story of persistence, passion and faith in bitcoin. It is also the story of an area whose inhabitants were proud of their beautiful city. The city in Germany may have many more inhabitants, but the lesser-known Berlin has many more bitcoiners each day than its much better-known counterpart.
Magic Internet Money
It all starts with Gerardo Linares and his girlfriend Evelyn Lemus, who worked as digital nomads in El Salvador for American companies for 10 years before discovering bitcoin. Both are natives of Spain and first heard about bitcoin when the country designated it legal tender in June 2021.
Like many of their compatriots, they became curious about bitcoin after the announcement and began attending meetings in San Salvador and El Zonte to learn more about this magical Internet money. Like many, they downloaded the Chivo wallet and collected their $30 in bitcoins in September 2021, when the law went into effect. The more they learned about this new global digital monetary network that allows it to be its own “decentralized bank,” the more they liked it.
They realized that having bitcoin as legal tender in their country attracted many outside visitors and tourists who were bitcoiners to their country, but very few natives adopted bitcoin outside of El Zonte and San Salvador. They wanted to change that, so they left their digital nomad jobs and began a journey that led them to settle in Berlin, a small mountain town about 2 hours east of San Salvador.
Sharing the gospel of bitcoin
After learning more about the impact of bitcoin and the opportunities it provided to local communities, they wanted other native Salvadorans to understand bitcoin as well. In the early stages of their journey, they traveled to many smaller towns and villages in El Salvador and never missed an opportunity to educate local school students who wanted to learn about bitcoin. They eventually partnered with Mi Primer bitcoin, which is a bitcoin education company that started in El Salvador. As Cory Klippsten, CEO of Swan bitcoin, has been saying for years: “Educating people about bitcoin is marketing bitcoin.”
When I asked him how many towns they visited in the country, Gerardo said “21.” I'm not sure he caught the irony of his answer to my question, since many bitcoiners consider 21 to be a special number. One of the places where they taught classes on bitcoin was in Berlin. They finally decided to begin their effort to develop a circular economy in this mountain town because the town officials were very proud of their community and were eager to attract tourists to the area.
Whenever you want people to adopt a new technology, early adopters are the hardest, and Berlin was no exception. In the beginning, the two were able to onboard 17 traders through many one-on-one conversations and mentoring. These first Berlin merchants were open to this new toll railway (lightning network) because they wanted more tourism. Additionally, another advantage they had in Berlin was that most merchants and merchants were so small that they had no employees, which meant they could speak directly to the decision maker. There were no employees to stand in their way as “middlemen.” They also had the added advantage of bitcoin being legal tender in their country. After the initial wave of 17 traders, more locals became involved in recruiting their fellow traders. Gerardo and Evelyn were quick to credit locals for the increase in adoption. However, this was not a success solely thanks to bitcoin. They organized community-supported cleanup projects that transformed the area and made it more attractive to locals and tourists alike.
Many of the merchants and merchants in Berlin had heard of bitcoin and most knew of its success in attracting tourists to El Zonte, which was a small surf town 30 minutes from San Salvador and about 3 hours from Berlin. Another advantage of the stores in Berlin was that they only accepted cash (El Salvador had stopped issuing its own currency in 2001, at which point they made the US dollar their legal tender) and had no method of accepting digital payments, which Which means that tourists were less likely to visit it.
Challenges and Solutions
Some even had the Chivo wallet since bitcoin was first launched because that wallet was necessary to receive their $30 in bitcoin from the government. However, they quickly discovered that the Chivo wallet by default generated a QR code for US dollars, NOT bitcoins. There was a way to accept bitcoins into the merchant's Chivo wallet, but it was not the default setting and was NOT easy to use.
They needed to make a solution for the Chivo wallet to accept bitcoin, which made it less than ideal. Most stores are small and do not yet accept ANY FORM of electronic payment. Gerardo and Evelyn refer to bitcoin as “electronic money” or “electronic money.” Accepting bitcoin became the method for these merchants and merchants to enter the digital era of payments, instantly creating a tourist destination for the many bitcoiners who came to El Salvador after the law was passed in 2021.
At first, success was slow and only one or two store owners were willing to try it. And when they made a sale in bitcoins, they would often call Gerardo and ask him to convert the bitcoin into USD. However, many have seen the price of bitcoin skyrocket in 2023 and are now much more inclined to hold on to their bitcoin. Gerardo and Evelyn finally showed them how to use the flashing wallet because it was much easier to use than the Chivo wallet and Blink has a stable sats feature that allows the trader to avoid bitcoin volatility.
However, getting merchants to accept bitcoin was only half of the equation because they needed customers and no one in Berlin paid in bitcoin. The couple began inviting bitcoiners from El Zonte and San Salvador to Berlin. As these groups of bitcoin visitors grew in size and frequency, they set out to host lunches and dinners at restaurants where bitcoin was accepted. It wasn't long before other merchants noticed these large groups turning to their competitors who accepted bitcoin.
Little by little, then suddenly…
Gerardo explained that once they reached a tipping point of about 50 stores, the whole need to recruit owners changed. At that time, merchants and owners began approaching them and asking them how to accept bitcoin. He added that “people here in Berlin are excited about bitcoin.” Recently, Gerardo and Evelyn opened a small office in Berlin where they teach people about bitcoin for free and teach locals who want to learn English for a small fee.
There's no doubt that the success and buzz generated by El Zonte played a major role in adoption, but there are now over 100 stores and merchants accepting bitcoin in Berlin, which Gerardo estimated represents about a quarter of the stores. and city businesses.
It's ironic that I suggested to Gerardo during the interview that Berlin is the “fastest growing bitcoin community in El Salvador.” He seemed reluctant to make that claim, but those are the facts. He made it clear that there is still much to do to educate locals and develop the circular economy. I was surprised to learn that they have a 15-page strategic plan to turn their new hometown into a global tourist destination that they wrote down. before They started. Its ultimate goal is for the project to be self-sustaining.
They have been so effective in putting the city of Berlin on the map that if you are a Bitcoiner landing in San Salvador you have to make a decision: “Do I head 30 minutes south to El Zonte or do I go east 2 hours? To Berlin? Do I want the beach (El Zonte) or the mountains (Berlin)?
In any case, there will be many merchants and merchants on both who will gladly accept your bitcoin. Meanwhile, tourism continues to grow in El Salvador and circular economies are appearing in the most unlikely places.
This is a guest post byMark Maraia and Beren Sutton Cleaver. The opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of btc Inc or bitcoin Magazine.
