Bitcoin payments fade at El Salvador’s Bitcoin Beach

Bitcoin Core contributor Jon Atack reported on Aug. 23 that a restaurant in El Zonte, El Salvador, received its first Bitcoin payment of the month when he paid for lunch. Summary One El Zonte restaurant reportedly recorded only one Bitcoin payment during August, according to Atack. Atack explicitly described the restaurant encounter as anecdotal, not comprehensive evidence for national payment activity. Only 8.1% of Salvadorans reported using Bitcoin for purchases during 2024, according to university polling. El Salvador made private-sector Bitcoin acceptance voluntary after revising its Bitcoin Law under IMF commitments. IMF documents say public Bitcoin holdings remained unchanged despite apparent increases in tracked government wallets. Atack, who has lived in El Salvador since 2022, said restaurant staff told him Bitcoin payments were once common but had become “practically non-existent.” El Zonte is widely known as Bitcoin Beach, the community that helped inspire El Salvador’s national Bitcoin policy. Bitcoin Payments in El Salvador Have Practically Dried UpJon Atack, a Bitcoin Core contributor residing in El Salvador, reported that a restaurant in El Zonte (known as "Bitcoin B...