The so-called Bitcoin Country must have a large Bitcoin community, right? Yes, in a way. There are many questions that may come to your head when you hear Bitcoin and El Salvador in the same sentence.
I have already written a couple of articles about how Bitcoin is in El Salvador and if Salvadorans are really using it; therefore, in this article I am going to focus more on talking about the other side of the coin: the community, the people who “use” bitcoin.
My First Dive into the Bitcoin Community
During the last couple of years, the Bitcoin community in El Salvador has been growing—not rapidly, but constantly—which is a good sign. Leaving aside the fact that the vast majority of people who participate in events and meetups are expats that came looking for better opportunities, Salvadorans are also starting to mingle more and more with this uncharted territory for them.
My first interaction with the Bitcoin community was at the Bitcoin Pizza Day in 2024, which was at a pizza place in San Salvador. I arrived early and, to my surprise, that was the first time I had ever seen many, many foreigners.
I thought it was not going to be packed, but it was a full house. I sat next to a couple of Salvadorans who were part of the Mi Primer Bitcoin Diploma, and they were there to know a little bit more about Bitcoin. I was already into BTC; I just didn’t know there were many others that gathered to talk about it.
This is the place where I met Berry Verkleij from Connecting People. He is a very chatty boy and thanks to that event, we were able to create a friendship that until this day is very strong.
I did some networking and understood that I needed some business cards to hand to people interested in learning Spanish or even Salvadorans interested in learning English.
Ever since, I have been attending monthly meetups where I got to meet more and more people, even people from Mi Primer Bitcoin like Reyna Chicas, who is the Director of Education. I also met Michael Ruiz, who is an Entrepreneur navigating the transition from Fiat to Bitcoin living in El Salvador. I also met Lina Seiche, who now is a very important figure in the Bitcoin World in El Salvador.
The Vibe at Bitcoin Events
I can say that events like Adopting Bitcoin 2024 and Plan B 2025 were very successful in terms of attendance, because both were focused on attracting Salvadorans into Bitcoin. However, Adopting Bitcoin 2025 was a bit different.
This year I attended not as a regular attendee but as a supporter, meaning that I was helping BitVault at their booth, talking about what it is and how it works, generating that interest in people so that they could join the community and test the app.
It is true that I was not able to see the full event because I was busy talking to people at the booth; however, in my breaks, I could notice a low Salvadoran attendance, and not only that, but foreigners were also less numerous than in 2024.
I still don’t know the exact numbers of attendees, but the previous year, I saw a place so booming that you could barely walk; this year, even some people from other booths were saying that it was very empty, so it was not only my perspective.
Can I say it was bad? No, because I saw some new Salvadoran faces, local businesses with booths promoting their products and services based on Bitcoin, getting known by foreigners—that was fantastic. There were a couple of local startups that were very attractive in terms of what they offered, so I decided to enroll.
One of them was Unique Capital, which called themselves: The first “neocooperativa” of El Salvador. It basically allows you to accept Bitcoin and convert it into USD if you want to, something similar to DitoBanx. The difference is that Unique Capital is a place where you can get loans, have a payment processing platform, receive remittances, and get a card that can be used anywhere. Basically what DitoBanx could’ve become.
Why Are Locals Hesitant?
The vast majority of Salvadorans don’t want to use Bitcoin; they have heard of it because Nayib Bukele is sometimes talking about it. Most elderly people associate Bitcoin with the government, and that’s where the problem is.
El Salvador is a family-centered country where no matter what you do, all the decisions have to be made in the family. This is not like in Canada or the US, where if you don’t want to be with your family for whatever reason, you can just leave, get a job at a restaurant, pay for your own apartment, and start making your own life. Well, I know things are getting more and more complicated in those countries, but you get the idea.
In El Salvador, if possible, you get to be 30 years old and still live with your parents until you get married. So, basically, parents and elders shape the path of your first 20 to 25 years.
Now, based on this, the vast majority of elders and people in their 40s do not like Bitcoin because they think it is an invention of the government. With all the propaganda that this administration has made around BTC, I don’t blame them for thinking that.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against it. It is just that BTC was not created so a government would endorse it to people, and that is why I know why some people don’t even want to hear about it. And as they don’t want to, they tell their kids and other family members that it is not good.
That is not the only reason, because also people get into Bitcoin with the first thought that most people get when they start into BTC: becoming rich quickly. Some of them buy BTC through the Chivo Wallet, and when they see that their $10 USD starts getting to $9.99 and then $9.90, they sell it and say that it is a scam. Others do take the time to learn what it is and that they don’t have to be afraid of the volatility.
Now, the main reason they don’t accept Bitcoin is just the lack of education around it. I understand that Bitcoiners love saying, “Do Your Own Research,” but if you guys really want others to use BTC, start teaching them.
I have talked a lot about Mi Primer Bitcoin and Bitcoin Beach, projects that have really taken the lead in this and have taught hundreds of Salvadorans about Bitcoin and how to use it.
The actual administration of El Salvador (2025) has announced that Bitcoin will be part of the educational curricula, so now the educational system of El Salvador has taken a huge step into the future.
It means that they know that the old generation of people will not change their mindset to use BTC, and now they are focusing on the younger generations that are easier to convince or mold.
The “Real” Community: Expats and Salvadorans
The Bitcoin community is mostly formed by expats in Telegram groups talking about why they left their countries and found peace in El Salvador and Salvadorans who want to promote their businesses to these expats so they can spend their sats on them.
Does it sound terrible? Yes, but that is the reality. Salvadorans still see foreigners as money bags, and that will not change until Salvadorans get enough financial literacy to overcome their situation.
Some of them already did, but the vast majority are still not beginning. But not everything is bad as it sounds. To be honest, the real Bitcoiners (not the maxis) do take the time to help others. I have met wonderful people from Canada, the US, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and many other countries that are great to talk to.
Salvadorans who are involved in these communities do have a great advantage over the others involved with the Maxis that only dedicate their lives to getting drunk and bad-talking about how screwed the world is while they rejoice, saying that Bitcoin is salvation without actually doing something to change it. I know, it’s their life and they can do whatever they want, but c’mon.
Telegram chat groups, Bitcoin meetups… that’s it. Once in a while there are some events, but most of the time it’s just that. But that doesn’t mean that the communities are not active; there are smaller groups that gather every other Saturday to have some barbecues or just to eat out, where they talk about different things and not only Bitcoin.
They welcome Salvadorans to join; as a matter of fact, they encourage bringing Salvadoran friends to join so they get to know more about BTC. This is what I think does best for the community: creating healthy relationships instead of big events that make people think that Bitcoin is only for millionaires.
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