A couple of Venezuelan content creators traveled to El Salvador with the challenge of paying for absolutely everything with bitcoins. In June 2021, and under the government of Nayib Bukele, the Central American country became the first to adopt this cryptocurrency as legal tender, which means that they accept it as a means of payment for goods and services along with the US dollar .
Valery Saa and Emmanuel Vieira, known as “Two Crazy Travelers” made their first purchase in a variety store and the payment process that they showed in a video they published on their YouTube account was extremely fast. Using an application, the young man scanned a QR code provided by the establishment, which had previously entered the amount, and the payment was made almost instantly.
El Salvador has its own virtual wallet
“Here in El Salvador they have their own virtual wallet called Chivo Wallet. It is a wallet that the government of El Salvador created after adopting bitcoin as legal tender. They even gave away $30 dollars to all the people who installed the application, where they can not only save in bitcoins but also in dollars,” Emmanuel explained.
Chivo Wallet is only for Salvadorans, so the traveler explained that he had to use the universal Lightning network to manage payments. He also mentioned that there is an app called BTC Map, which helps people find all the stores that accept bitcoins in the country.
He said they initially found the process somewhat difficult when trying to make the first payments, but were eventually able to overcome this difficulty by doing research and consulting people who knew about the subject.
Exchange like CoinEx; a wallet like Blink
Regarding the purchase of bitcoins, the content creator suggested using an exchange, which functions as a cryptocurrency exchange house, such as CoinEx. In addition, he said that they initially tried to make payments from the exchange, but then they received an expert’s recommendation to download the Blink wallet application, which made the process easier.
Emmanuel stated that one of the advantages of Blink is its ease of use and speed, as it does not require extensive verifications like some other platforms. He also highlighted that this option is especially beneficial when traveling to other countries, since you can avoid the fees that some cards usually charge for transactions abroad.
“The cool thing is that it doesn’t ask you for a verification between your passport and your face, which can take even days for your account to be approved, but you download the application through the App Store or Play Store and you can immediately transfer money and you can start using it. It’s very easy and fast. Especially if you travel to other countries, you save on commissions. There are cards that do charge a commission. So you would save all these commissions 100% if you decide to pay with bitcoins,” he said.
Cash, a matter of seconds
The couple used Chivo ATMs to withdraw dollars in cash and thus demonstrate how simple the process is.
To begin, the device asks for the user’s phone number, to which a code is sent that must be entered into the system. Once this is done, a QR code is generated that the user must scan for the transaction to be processed. In just one minute and 15 seconds, the content creators noted, they withdrew $20, the minimum amount allowed by the platform.
He highlighted that with Chivo Wallet, the solution proposed by Nayib Bukele for Salvadorans both inside and outside the country, sending remittances to family members in El Salvador becomes more convenient and commission-free. He also explained that Salvadorans in the United States can download the application, link their credit card and send money directly to the wallet address of their relatives in the Central American country. This way, your loved ones can withdraw the money without incurring commissions.
What is the main advantage of bitcoin?
Lorenzo Rey, a Venezuelan bitcoin expert who lives in El Salvador, explained that the main advantage of bitcoin lies in its unalterable nature, since no group of people, governments or entities can manipulate it to appropriate citizens’ money.
He explained: “Most people don’t know that their income is being sucked away by the government through the hidden tax that is money printing. When the government prints money, what it is doing is stealing from those who already have it, because money reflects the goods and services that are in the economy. You can think of a world where there are only five apples and there are $5 dollars, each apple costing $1 dollar. If I print $5 new dollars, there is now $10 dollars in the economy, but it’s the same five apples. What is going to happen? Each apple will cost $2 dollars. So, if you had $1 dollar saved and now the apple is worth $2 dollars, it is the same equivalent as if I had stolen half your money from the bank.”
In contrast, he said that bitcoin prevents this type of manipulation by corrupt governments, since it functions as honest money, similar to gold in ancient times. He described it as “gold 2.0.”
Bitcoin, better for saving
Lorenzo noted that a disadvantage of bitcoin is its susceptibility to the free market, where price fluctuations can be significant due to multiple macroeconomic and microeconomic variables. He explained that volatility can pose a problem for those who need price stability to carry out daily transactions, such as buying basic foodstuffs.
However, he mentioned that there are solutions such as stablecoins and reserve-of-value platforms to mitigate this risk.
He also stated that cryptocurrency is more suitable for people with the ability to save, as, in his opinion, it is a solid savings vehicle.
He highlighted that over time, bitcoin has proven to increase in value, rewarding those who save with greater purchasing power. He further stressed that the ability to save is essential for long-term planning, personal development and the completion of important projects, such as purchasing a house, a car or financing a university education.
For content creators, declaring bitcoin as legal tender in El Salvador is President Nayib Bukele’s “best move.”
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