Using Bitcoin: Campaign boosts crypto adoption

Bitcoin is legal tender in El Salvador. It has long been possible to pay with the original cryptocurrency, at least via the Lightning network, in a matter of seconds. No bank, credit card company or other financial intermediary stands between people. That’s the theory.

And yet: Bitcoin is not often used as a means of payment. Only a negligibly small part of the world’s population uses the cryptocurrency, which also wants to be a global means of payment, for this purpose. With #UsingBitcoin, the German BTC community is now launching an initiative to promote paying with Bitcoin. The starting day is today, October 19, 2022.

Using Bitcoin: These businesses are participating

Participation is very easy. Simply on sites like btcmap.org or coinpages.io Find a retailer near you, shop, pay with Bitcoin, and upload a photo, video, or social media post. If you want to learn how to pay with Lightning, you can find instructions here.

So far three have accepted in Berlin Subway branches the cryptocurrency. Speaking to BTC-ECHO, their CEOs and Bitcoin enthusiasts explained that the #UsingBitcoin campaign immediately hyped them:

On the one hand, we see the opportunity to convince traders of Bitcoin as a payment method with more attention and demand. On the other hand, we would like to motivate guests to deal with Bitcoin and want to pay with it. In turn, we hope to do so with a massive discount that is only available for Bitcoin payments.

They also see the campaign as a thank you to the community. The “employees should become more confident in handling the Lightning terminal with a higher Bitcoin frequency”. “It may also motivate our team to take a closer look at the cryptocurrency privately – precaution is good,” the entrepreneurs hope.

If you feel like cooling off at the current temperatures, you can go to the ice cream parlour Chipi Chipi Bombon Pay in Berlin with “digital gold”. On the other hand, if you have already nibbled too much of the sweet delicacy, you will find a specialist dentist and specialist in orthodontics dr Marc Ullrich Help – also payable in Bitcoin.

Previous Acceptance

The fact that the Salvadoran people pay for goods and services with Bitcoin may have been a dream of maximalist and President Nayib Bukele. The sobering reality is different. The only representative study published so far on Bitcoin usage in El Salvador puts the percentage of payment transactions made in Bitcoin at just 4.9 percent.

Nevertheless, there is a worldwide interest in Bitcoin as a means of payment. Companies like McDonald’s or Shopify already accept Bitcoin or Bitcoin Lightning. Others fantasize about a future with crypto payments: Recently, Walmart, the world’s largest supermarket chain, liked this idea.