Bitcoin payments appear to have nearly disappeared from El Zonte, the Salvadoran coastal community known as Bitcoin Beach. Jon Atack, a Bitcoin Core contributor who has lived in the area since 2022, said staff at a local business told him his BTC payment was the first they had received in a month. The business reportedly sees almost all customers pay by card.
Atack described the experience as anecdotal, but said the worker had watched payment habits change over three years. The report has renewed debate about Bitcoin’s use in everyday commerce in El Salvador, where the cryptocurrency became legal tender in 2021. One explanation raised by commentators is that people prefer to hold bitcoin in anticipation of higher prices, reducing spending and weakening the circular economy. Other visitors said they were still able to pay with bitcoin in the region, underscoring that adoption may vary by merchant and location.
https://news.bitcoin.com/crypto-news/bitcoin-core-dev-warns-bitcoin-payments-vanish-at-bitcoin-beach/
oxhak / Ox HaK
npub1sx…dz7z7
2026-08-24 22:35:52 UTC
Author Public Key
npub1sxexewvzysc3affq4yzzh7w8e3udyujap2vlj7t6lkdg5dvhp24q4dz7z7Seen on
wss://nos.lolPublished at
2026-08-24 22:35:52 UTCEvent JSON
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"content": "Bitcoin payments appear to have nearly disappeared from El Zonte, the Salvadoran coastal community known as Bitcoin Beach. Jon Atack, a Bitcoin Core contributor who has lived in the area since 2022, said staff at a local business told him his BTC payment was the first they had received in a month. The business reportedly sees almost all customers pay by card.\n\nAtack described the experience as anecdotal, but said the worker had watched payment habits change over three years. The report has renewed debate about Bitcoin’s use in everyday commerce in El Salvador, where the cryptocurrency became legal tender in 2021. One explanation raised by commentators is that people prefer to hold bitcoin in anticipation of higher prices, reducing spending and weakening the circular economy. Other visitors said they were still able to pay with bitcoin in the region, underscoring that adoption may vary by merchant and location.\n\nhttps://news.bitcoin.com/crypto-news/bitcoin-core-dev-warns-bitcoin-payments-vanish-at-bitcoin-beach/",
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