By Bitcoin Revista - acum 1 an - Timp de citire: 8 minute
The Challenges Of Bitcoin Adoption Aren't Stopping Salvadorans
Citizens of El Salvador still face certain obstacles in their bitcoin adoption journey, but still look forward to the future.
This is an opinion editorial by Rikki, Bitcoin explorer, author and co-host of the “Bitcoin Italia,” and “Stupefatti” podcasts.
Toate imaginile incluse în acest articol provin de la autor.
Cu toate ca Bitcoin adoption and usage among the common people of El Salvador is virtually nonexistent, as we documented in our previous Bitcoin Articol de revistă, este întotdeauna atât de distractiv să faci un tur în această țară și suntem atât de fericiți să ne întoarcem.
Tot ce se întâmplă aici este într-adevăr destul de istoric și a putea fi martor este un privilegiu rar.
Am ales să petrecem toată prima săptămână în capitala San Salvador.
Am avut nevoie inițial de o tabără de bază pentru a ne organiza. Vlogurile de călătorie pentru care le facem Bitcoin Exploratori necesită multă muncă și logistică. A spune o aventură ca a noastră prin muzică și imagini nu este o sarcină ușoară. Cantitatea de muncă implicată este enormă.
But it's time to get moving. We pointed the nose of our car — rented in Bitcoin — toward the outskirts of the city and left its urban agglomeration behind.
The first challenge of the afternoon was to fill up the tank by paying for it in Bitcoin. Who knows why car rentals here have a habit of bringing you the car with the tank half empty. At least, that has been our experience, including the rentals we made last year. Fortunately, it seems that in gas stations they have not lost the taste for accepting Bitcoin. We received only one laconic no. On our second attempt they gas us up and present us with a Chivo QR code without blowback.
Tranzacția Lightning a fost, de asemenea, destul de rapidă, ținând cont de standardele de stat sh*wallet, desigur.
Apropo de portofelul Chivo — la părăsirea hotelului nostru, am experimentat minute de confuzie și neîncredere. Am luat micul dejun, am ajuns la birou și am cerut nota de plată, gata de check out în câteva ore. La recepție ne-au oferit o adresă în lanț. Grozav. L-am dus în camera noastră și am făcut tranzacția cu calm din BitBox02. Am stabilit taxele mari, pentru a obține o confirmare rapidă, și fără să mă gândesc la asta am început să ne umplu ghiozdanele.
Just as I was thinking about how convenient bitcoin is, allowing me to pay my hotel bill even from the room, I get a WhatsApp message from the front desk. They write to me that the payment transaction is canceled. Canceled? A bitcoin transaction? How is that possible?
Mi-am deschis laptopul și am verificat starea pe mempool.space. Îl văd acolo, sculptat în travertin digital, cu deja nouă blocuri minate după cel care îl conține. Deci nu este doar confirmat, ci cimentat. Îmi dau ochii peste cap și mă gândesc că doar Chivo poate suge atât de rău.
I arm myself with patience and go down to the front desk. I show the confirmations to the hotel staff. I explain that it is not possible for the transaction to turn up canceled. There must be a problem with their wallet. The address is correct, the transaction ID is the same. They tell me not to worry, that they will call Chivo customer service with all the details and they will fix it. But before they dismiss me, they tell me, "This bitcoin is working really bad though ..."
Înțelegi? Înțelegi și tu de unde vine neîncrederea?
They do not have the means to understand that it is Chivo that is the problem — not Bitcoin. For them there is no difference. They live this terrible user experience, and for them that is what Bitcoin is. Obviously I took the time to explain what’s actually happening, and I recommend using another wallet. But those will probably have been words lost to the wind.
It is really striking, though, how the software instrumental to the Bitcoin Law in this country, the state wallet, more than fifteen months after its launch still manages to perform so poorly. I mean, how does a wallet miss an on-chain transaction? It just has to read the timechain.
It turns out to be, in our opinion, the obvious source of many problems. All the times we have gone into a store and been told they have stopped accepting bitcoin because it is too complex, they were likely referring more to Chivo than anything else.
Celălalt motiv pe care îl dau mereu este că sunt prea puține tranzacții. Prea puțin volum.
Gandeste-te la asta. Chiar ar trebui să fim surprinși?
Nu este perfect logic?
We have to keep in mind that El Salvador is not Venezuela, Argentina or Nigeria. It is not a country with its own hyper-inflated national currency. People here, when they receive their salaries, do not have to storm the stores to buy immediately, before merchants raise prices, or turn to the black market to buy any other currency, as long as it is more stable. Salvadorans take their salaries in dollars; they live in U.S. dollars. As much as we may not like it, in emerging countries the American currency is still the most desired. Some people are willing to pay double, if not triple, its value to grab it. Why would the people of El Salvador prefer bitcoin in their everyday lives? Do you really think Bitcoiner talk about monetary sovereignty, privacy in money and self custody has appeal in these latitudes? Without education that provides context?
It is perfectly normal that dollars are preferred here, so we cannot assume that the volume behind bitcoin is coming from locals. Indeed, we should wonder why even the Bitcoiners who visit here do not spend their satoshis — but that is another story.
Orașul nostru favorit absolut este Santa Ana și ne-am îndreptat acolo pentru a gusta o gustare a adevăratului El Salvador. Autenticitatea este în fiecare colț aici și asta căutăm.
We have a favorite place in the town called Casa Verde. On paper it's a hostel, but it's really so much more — it's a hotel, it's a bar and it's a community center. It's a very special place. If you happen to be in the area it is definitely the first place to try and stay. Say hello to Carlos, the owner — tell him you will pay in bitcoin and that Rikki and Laura sent you.
Orașul este întotdeauna uimitor, cu amestecul său de culori și arhitectură coloniale oarecum decadente. Este mai mic decât San Salvador și asta e bine. Este mult mai locuibil.
Every time we come we always end up having a great time mingling with the people. Near the central square there is a folk market that is beautiful. All the picturesque streets are dotted with stalls selling everything you could want. Browsing them is a pleasure. Pay no attention to the curious glances of the locals, the giggles of the kids. They are still not quite used to seeing foreigners here. If they do it is because you are a novelty here, something you don't see every day. And after all, a little curiosity never killed anyone.
It is natural to think that if few people accept bitcoin in the larger and more cosmopolitan San Salvador, even less would do so here. But it would be a completely wrong assumption. Try asking in the markets, at the stalls. You will find plenty of small traders with a Chivo wallet in their pocket and a great desire not to lose a customer (from whom they can perhaps squeeze a few extra dollars). You will see them ready to put themselves on the line — to take risks, from their point of view. Mind you, you will likely be their first bitcoin transaction; you will have to teach them what to do from scratch.
Am petrecut ore întregi rătăcind pe străzile din centrul orașului. Vremea aici este atunci perfectă, fierbinte în timpul zilei, dar întotdeauna răcoroasă și aerisită seara.
We bought tubes of toothpaste, a lighter (even here we can't keep from losing them all the time) and Mexican-style tortillas at street stalls, and after making some young street vendor happy with his first Lightning transaction we inevitably ended up in the central plaza, Plaza de la Libertad. It is truly the beating heart of the community. It is always crowded. Elegant and beautiful, with its early 20th century buildings, the National Theater, in pure Art Nouveau style, the municipal palace and the very white cathedral, the most beautiful in all of El Salvador, they say.
În această zi, însă, piața era deosebit de haotică și plină de activitate. Montau o scenă mare, acordau instrumente, căptușeau rânduri și rânduri de scaune. Era evident că în curând va avea loc un concert aici. Ne-am apropiat să cotrofiăm, atrași de scenă ca două molii de o lumină. Pe măsură ce ne apropiam, un domn corpulnic în anii '60 ne-a văzut și s-a apropiat de noi. El este directorul filarmonicii de tineret, ne-a spus, și ne-a explicat că în acea noapte va avea loc un eveniment rock simfonic. Tinerii muzicieni vor îmbina melodiile instrumentelor lor clasice cu o trupă rock locală, interpretând cover-uri ale unor mari clasice metal cu aranjamente simfonice. Ne-a rugat să nu pierdem spectacolul, spunându-ne că va fi la ora 6. A fost bucuros să vadă doi locuitori din afara orașului și vă puteți da seama prin insistența lui sinceră că îi pasă de noi să mergem.
That face, that attitude — we've seen it before here. It is that deep desire to show someone from afar that there is also another El Salvador — one that is not made up of violence and poverty. It is made of people capable of studying, organizing, playing and dancing. It is an opportunity for redemption. They want to prove themselves. It's an attitude that grabs you in the gut, believe me.
Am acceptat-o de bunăvoie.
Ne-am întors la ora convenită și ne-au rezervat chiar două locuri în rândul trei, în spatele autorităților. Spectacolul a fost tot ce ne-am fi așteptat. Frumos, sincer, autentic, emoționant și fantastic din punct de vedere muzical.
Aceasta este o postare pentru oaspeți de Rikki. Opiniile exprimate sunt în întregime proprii și nu reflectă neapărat cele ale BTC Inc sau Bitcoin Revistă.
Sursă originală: Bitcoin Revistă