This is an opinion piece by Mike Peterson, a longtime entrepreneur, philanthropist and author who is director of the Bitcoin Beach project.
Three years ago I attended a meeting that changed the trajectory of my life. The meeting was with a Bitcoin early adopter and philanthropist consultant who wanted to see Bitcoin used in meaningful ways to change lives. I left the meeting energized with the feeling that something radical was being born. I’ve always seen the world very differently, which can be alienating at times. Leaving this meeting felt the opposite. I felt I understood what this donor wanted to see, maybe even more than the counselor explaining it to me. I returned home and made the following unpolite proposal. I had a hunch that this donor wanted something very different. I don’t care about the procedure or the correct way of doing things (or even correcting grammar or spelling if you follow me on Twitter). I felt that this visionary Bitcoiner was a kindred spirit. They just wanted someone who could do the impossible and not make excuses as to why it couldn’t be. They wanted to see the world’s first Bitcoin circular economy emerge, and our team was crazy enough to think we could make it happen. The following feverish proposal was sent that night: a proposal light on detail and laden with naive idealism. Reflecting back three years after writing this – 2.5 years after the project was launched – it’s shocking that everything went according to plan.
The only fundamental divergence was moving the initial location from Agua Fria/Punta Mango to El Zonte for the first community. We actually started out in Punta Mango, but realized that making orange pills in a community was not something we could do remotely. So we shifted gears and decided to focus on our hometown of El Zonte – Punta Mango is about a four hour drive away. Coming full circle, I am happy to report that we are building our second Hope House in Punta Mango, using the lessons we learned at El Zonte to hyperbitcoinize the community. As Bitcoin Beach transforms into a global movement, we will be releasing an updated white paper outlining our vision to see Bitcoin circular economies spreading across the world and showcasing some of the projects we are supporting. Before we released our updated vision, I wanted to reflect on where we came from and help others see how a simple idea and a little bit of audacity can bring change and hope.
The original Bitcoin Beach white paper
“We have the opportunity to use Bitcoin to transform one of the poorest and most isolated villages in El Salvador. El Salvador is the smallest and most populous country in Central America and has consistently the highest murder rate in the world. Citizens of El Salvador are desperately fleeing in record numbers, with over 20% of Salvadorans now living in the US because of it.
On the undeveloped east coast of this troubled country is an isolated village that we hope will become the poster child for how Bitcoin can be used to improve the lives of the unbanked poor across the world. Agua Fria is a remote coastal village, largely undeveloped because the region was the epicenter of the civil war that only ended in the 1990s. This is slowly changing as surf tourism brings adventurous foreign travelers to the area. Unfortunately, the local population has benefited very little from this influx, as most guests currently stay at the two out-of-town-owned all-inclusive hotels. We see bringing Bitcoin to people as a way to provide local business capital and help promote the area beyond the surf spot.
“We think the following features of the area provide the ideal conditions for using Bitcoin to transform lives.
“The area is highly impoverished but full of potential for future tourism. A targeted injection of Bitcoin could potentially change the trajectory of this entire region and help locals participate in the growth of tourism. Recent studies have shown that cash transfers are more effective in alleviating poverty than complicated aid programs. However, money transfer comes with many logistical and security concerns and is often very expensive to implement. Bitcoin overcomes this because it can be transferred quickly, securely and efficiently. We believe this program can transform the future of aid and charity work around the world. In addition, Agua Fria’s relative isolation means that we can clearly document and identify the impact of the Bitcoin injection on the local economy.
“Because of physical isolation and extreme poverty, the majority of the population does not have a bank account. The adoption of Bitcoin allows them to bypass the fiat banking system.
“Most villagers have family members in the US who send them remittances to help them survive. However, it is a significant challenge for village members to just go to a bank to pick up a transfer, and bank fees and charges take a considerable percentage of what is sent. We believe that, once introduced to the ease and efficiency of Bitcoin transfer, this could pave the way for it to become the default method for immigrants to send money home without risking losing it to crooks or greedy government bureaucrats.
“Due to the recent influx of adventure travelers, word will quickly spread around the world about ‘Bitcoin Beach’. It will become known as the beautiful little beach village in El Salvador where you don’t have to carry cash because all the local shops and businesses prefer Bitcoin.
“What we are proposing goes far beyond just giving a nonprofit a few bitcoins and having them find a way to spend it. What we want to do is create a circular Bitcoin economy that transforms a region, demonstrates Bitcoin’s ability to end poverty, and brings journalists from around the world to marvel and write about the village that runs on Bitcoin.”
goals
“To provide a sustainable Bitcoin ecosystem:
“Bitcoin will be distributed to families with children attending the local school. This allows bitcoin to be widely distributed, get the resources where they are needed most (families with children) and encourage the continuing education of local children – most students in this area often drop out before fifth grade because parents start having it. them. work in the fields to help support the family. We will work with local entrepreneurs to teach them how to accept bitcoin and explain how injecting bitcoin into the local community will provide opportunities to increase sales. We will also work with the local water project that provides all water services in the village to ensure people can pay their bills in bitcoin. Finally, we will have someone living in the community helping people download phone wallets and holding their hands through their initial use of bitcoin to buy goods and pay bills.
“The second stage will come in the second year as bitcoin is being widely used for local commerce. At this point, our team will focus on helping people show their relatives how they can easily and cheaply send bitcoins, rather than trying to transfer money. In the initial year, we will have to provide an exchange in the city to allow stores to convert some of their Bitcoins into fiat currency so they can pay their suppliers. We will do this at a slight discount from current market rates to encourage them to start trading with their suppliers in Bitcoin. The hope is that over time, their suppliers will actually prefer to be paid in bitcoin because they realize the benefits of using bitcoin. Finally, we will ensure that tourists know that the best way to pay for everything is in bitcoin so that they also increase village transactions that take place in bitcoin.
“We are going to put Agua Fria on the map as the first ‘Bitcoin Village’ in the world. I have extensive experience in getting media coverage and I know the media will not be able to get enough of it. We will have journalists from all major publications coming to write about this Bitcoin Village. I have been featured on various TV shows in my business ventures from The Food Network to The History Channel to “Good Morning America” because we have unique food items. With something as revolutionary as this, I believe this will be the story everyone is talking about. We believe that the rebranding of Agua Fria as ‘Bitcoin Beach’ will increase tourism as people read the stories and flock to the beautiful beaches, having the opportunity to be a part of this Bitcoin revolution.
“Our goal is that by the end of three years, people around the world know about Bitcoin Beach and want to see similar transformations in their communities. In the third year, we believe that the majority of transactions in Agua Fria will be in bitcoin and that the majority of funds sent by relatives in the US will be sent using bitcoin.
“In addition, Agua Fria businesses will pay employees in bitcoin and suppliers will accept bitcoin as payment for supplies sold to local businesses. Furthermore, we believe that increased tourism will benefit local businesses because local people will have the resources to start small businesses. Ultimately, we think that after three years, the system will be strong enough to go forward on its own and that we can start pulling out the monthly bitcoin purse without impacting the ecosystem. At that point, bitcoin will be entrenched and everyone will have seen the benefits of trading in bitcoin instead of fiat.
“As I mentioned, what we want to do is revolutionary and we believe it will affect the poor and bitcoin in a way that almost nothing else can. We realize this is way beyond the scope of your current projects, but we think the impact will genuinely be world-changing.”
It’s one thing to have a vision, another to be able to implement it. The reason Bitcoin Beach has become a success story rather than a cautionary tale comes down to the Salvadoran team on the ground, working and working to make it happen. 100% of the credit goes to these ambitious community-minded leaders who were able to take a silly dream and turn it into a world-changing reality. We also give great credit to the President of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele. He took a huge political risk to do what is necessary to bring about lasting transformation for El Salvador. The Bitcoin Beach team is now focused on continuing to transform El Salvador, but also finding other serving young leaders around the world who want to transform their communities. We can’t wait to see what happens in the next three years.
This is a guest post by Mike Peterson. The opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC, Inc. or from Bitcoin Magazine.
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