Our guest house in Suchitoto has a garden that is a little eden. Emerald green, with a roof of palm trees protecting from the hot sun and a view that seduces the eyes. We spend the morning there finishing up work and communicating a bit with Italy.
In the afternoon we walk around the town. It is really beautiful. After having spent a long time in more crowded and chaotic places, it is a pleasant pastime. It allows us to relax. We stop to eat in a nice restaurant a few steps away from the cathedral, in a very picturesque street. They cook a hybrid between French crepes and local cuisine, very pleasant. The friendly owner has lived in France for a long time. Not only do they accept Bitcoin but they use the Bitcoin Beach wallet. No Chivo. The lady doesn’t really know how to use it, she always has us do it, a clear sign that it doesn’t happen to her very often yet. But she’s very open to the idea. And ready for anything that will make her more and better work. The incentive. Business is business.
At sunset we return to our little garden to watch the pink light ignite the hills and lake. We spend the rest of the evening planning the work of the next few days. We are about to return to Bitcoin Beach and we want to make a video documentary that can bring it to life for the many friends who follow and read us. There is much to write and much to discuss.
Approaching this final content we’re about to make forces me to start drawing conclusions. And there are many aspects that confuse me. On which I still don’t have a clear idea.
As a speaker and expert what is my take on what I saw happening in El Salvador? How do I evaluate it?
The complexities of what is being attempted in this nation are beyond my most pessimistic predictions. Human society is extremely complex and currency is something that intersects deeply with it. It is difficult to see it clearly from your desk at home. You have to come to the field to understand it. Here in the trenches. Where the clash between two profoundly different economic models is beginning. El Salvador is an early adopter. Our enthusiasm and hopes should not let us forget that.
People here need concrete tools to convey value that conform to their needs, which are basic and therefore very peculiar. Bitcoin has a lot of growing to do before it can be a viable alternative. Volatility is an issue, its digital nature also, as is its complexity. There are a lot of people here who still need to touch, physically exchange, and respond to immediate needs. In this, cash is still superior. Appreciating the radically new features of Bitcoin requires knowledge and training that is still largely absent. This is a gap that militant associations will have to fill. I don’t think it’s on the political agenda of the country.
But this all in all can be a good thing. If a handful of local organizations and businesses can work with the right enthusiasm to bring vision and education to a population that so desperately needs it, then this will be the grassroots revolution that many of us are hoping for. It will take time, but in doing so Bitcoin will truly prove to be that technological idea capable of establishing itself beyond anything and everything. Without the need for laws and licenses from the authorities. Simply because it is the best possible form of money. Inevitable because the deterioration of the current system is evident, at every latitude and in every social context. Because it is better suited to what awaits us, to redesigning a different society, based on alternative economic principles and guided in a less autocratic, more open and inclusive manner. If that happens, it will take years. We all better make our peace with it.
Like any top-down, vertically-driven initiative, however, it will be much quicker to see if the Bitcoin law pays off for its political father and frontman. It will take a handful of months to see if the legal tender will be successful in making El Salvador a popular destination for investors and blockchain companies. And that is something that should not be underestimated or underestimated. This is a very important challenge. The economic revitalization of an entire nation would benefit everyone, even if not equally. It would help to entice other nations and considerably enhance Bitcoin’s reputation as an underlying economic asset. And that would be important to each of us.
The truth is that what we are trying to do on a global scale is also extraordinarily articulate and complex. Compromises will be needed, and I write this first to myself. We’re looking at decades of hitting the rim and hitting the barrel. But there’s good wine in there.
