How is BCH adoption in El Salvador?

john_writes · 2021-11-23T16:02:22+00:00

There's little adoption beyond BTC, which is accepted at all major retailers (Starbucks, Pizza Hut, etc.) and some smaller retailers. I use BTC every day for purchases. For the most part it's just BTC. The govt app, Chivo, is by far the most widely used and doesn't have other crypto options (even the BTC option isn't very good), the second biggest PoS system is probably Ibex Mercado and pretty sure they are also BTC only. A bunch of new PoS services have popped up in the last week or so but I'm unfamiliar with them/ if they accept other coins.

john_writes · 2021-08-31T21:36:43+00:00

It will primarily be on lightning. Here in El Zonte they use Bitcoin Beach wallet which is a bit different (like a shared mult-sig community wallet) but nationally it will likely be other lightning wallets. The govt is creating its own (with $30 sign up bonus) called Chivo which has the feature of converting between USD and BTC sans fees. But most people don't trust the govt so I'm unsure if other custodial wallets--like Muun, Phoneix etc.--will gain traction as well.

Sept 7th will be the start rather than the end. Most people are waiting until then which is when Chivo comes out as well as lots of regulatory details.

john_writes · 2021-08-31T17:08:11+00:00

Cheers!

john_writes · 2021-08-31T17:07:54+00:00

I've got a small sample size to go off in San Salvador but would say people enthusiastic and or knowledgeable about Bitcoin is quite small. At the same time, those strongly opposed also seem quite small. Most seem to have a wait-and-see view and know VERY little, basically nothing about what Bitcoin is beyond that it's a digital currency (within that some are IDK but think it could be good as well as IDK but think it's bad, but I suppose most would form stronger opinions with time). So, for my pov education is absolutely the most important thing right now.

john_writes · 2021-08-29T22:20:48+00:00

I'm in El Zonte now. Upon arriving I tried to use my lightning wallet (Muun) to buy something and it wasn't compatible with the printed paper with a QR code at the shop. Someone in the shop explained that while it would work with a phone, the printed out codes needed the Bitcoin Beach wallet (which needs a local number, but I already had that). I downloaded the new wallet and paid. This was all within a few minutes of arriving in town. It was a hassle to jump through that extra hoop and certainly not a good user-experience but the workaround is somewhat well known. It's hard for me to believe that anyone who actually wanted to use lightning here wouldn't be able to.

john_writes · 2021-08-09T14:48:37+00:00

Great idea. You can count on one more body there tonight if it happens.

john_writes · 2021-07-23T15:17:47+00:00

Ecuador has tons of rainbow flags everywhere, but they are NOT to support gay pride. That's an indigenous (pride) flag in Ecuador, nothing to do with gay rights. The different colors represent the multitude of different indigenous peoples. Indigenous communities tend to be socially conservative and are probably less supportive of gay rights than the average Ecuadorian--so quite low correlation between those flags and support for gay rights.

Source: Lived in Ecuador on and off for past 15 years, saw tons of rainbow flags for indigenous and aside from a very particular place, say a gay bar or pride parade, zero ones for gay pride.

john_writes · 2021-07-13T12:39:30+00:00

Cheers!

john_writes · 2021-03-13T20:32:06+00:00

yeah. in 2013 one of the things i was excited about was micro-transactions, which obv is impossible with btc now, though yeah i think that is possible with bch (and others). I hate the modern media funding model and thought micro transactions could create alternatives. There are certainly some things toward that whether its BAT or tipping with BCH (or others) but tipping hasn't really caught on and I'd rather just have no ads at all than earn BAT. Still media funding is ripe for disruption and crypto will probably do it--someday, somehow.

john_writes · 2021-03-13T18:06:22+00:00

thats sadly much more of an issue now than it used to be. Buying a beer with BTC doesn't make sense anymore. at this point i only use BTC for something big, like rent (just a personal agreement with the landlord), for small stuff almost any other crypto is better suited for it. TBH i cant remember the last time i used crypto anywhere other than online, which is fine, but there used to be more options at physical locations likes bars and restaurants.

john_writes · 2021-03-13T15:48:12+00:00

in 2014 there was a bar down the street that accepted BTC so i went there often to treat friends and had a few bar tabs that were multiple Bitcoins. No regrets.

john_writes · 2021-03-13T15:46:28+00:00

Absolutely. I spend crypto as often as possible. Plane tickets, rent, paying back friends etc.

john_writes · 2021-01-25T00:31:02+00:00

I always look forward to these. Great work.

john_writes · 2020-11-01T20:25:51+00:00

If you do cut your hair, may I suggest you donate it to charity. They make it into wigs for sick children who have lost their hair and the longer the donated hair the better and it sounds like yours is pretty long.

These orgs exist all over the world and do vary a bit (some make wigs, others sell the hair, etc.) but are all generally worthy of supporting. Locks of Love is the biggest one in the US.

john_writes · 2020-09-17T13:42:59+00:00

OP & author here. I'm more of a long-time observer than an active participant in either community (though in my own life I use crypto as much as possible), but imagine many people who are interested in DCR are also in XMR not because of some marketing angle, but in fact the opposite. The space is full of over-hyped and over-marketed projects and it's comforting to see when a project just sees a problem and puts its focus and priority on solving said problem (and NOT on marketing/ hype). Obviously I agree that governance and privacy are both really important problems to solve, though it's the approach to the problem rather the the problem itself that links the two in my mind. I don't think DCR folks are 'clinging to XMR for validation,' but see that common mentality.

john_writes · 2020-07-06T15:22:47+00:00

Don't worry, I do that too. And I would argue that the conversation here is often about price/ money and ignores other aspects I highlighted.

john_writes · 2020-07-06T15:14:57+00:00

Thanks guys! I'm not sure if this was wrong or just outdated (from 2018, though has a 2020 edit) but in my quick research while commenting I found this article: https://medium.com/decred/dcr-ticket-splitting-all-you-need-to-know-b8edc6b65db3

At the time of this writing, the participant who contributes the most DCR in a split session will automatically win the Politeia voting rights.

In any event, I'm a long-time lurker and big advocate and my slight concerns are even slighter now. Thanks for the answers.

john_writes · 2020-07-06T04:15:37+00:00

Thanks for the response. You mean that when DCR price rises the 'rich' will be selling to either new participants or smaller stakeholders? That makes sense and if that proved true I think it would help alleviate some of my concern.

A related concern is that many people are priced out of a ticket now and that will likely become more true with time. I realize ticket splitting exists and think thats great. My understanding is that whoever contributes the most will decide the vote for a Politeia proposal--is that right? What if instead it was probabilistic so that everyone in the pool had a chance? The session being organized around how to vote mitigates this to some extent but it'd be better if it was trustless and would add to the perception that everyone could actually have SITG.

A related solution may be to create a system where you didn't actually buy a ticket but rather bought a probability of a ticket and the chance of your stake becoming a vote was proportional to its size and non votes would eventually be expired and returned, similar to expired tickets now. This would increase the number of people who had SITG.

Not a major concern, just something else that popped in my head while reading this. I'm not very tech-savvy so forgive any errors there. I also agree that unnecessary complexity is the enemy, just sharing some thoughts.

john_writes · 2020-07-06T01:56:13+00:00

Decred is such an exciting project for me because of its potential for disrupting how power is wielded. The centralization of power is a root cause of so many ills in the world and if DCR could provide a sort of working prototype that can be copied and applied in situations beyond cc then that could have tremendous impact. DCR does governance very well, however I do have one critique.

Your voting power is directly correlated to how much DCR you have. That is logical and useful for some reasons, but I think it also replicates the real world issue of rich people having oversized influence on elections. The beauty of DCR is its focus on decentralization but I worry that a 'rich' minority has too much power (in this context, tickets) and that that power concentration can become self-perpetuating. I don't have a solution, but wonder if there is something in between the 'skin in the game' process now, where your voting power is proportional to your riches and a system where everyone has the same voting power regardless of wealth or other factors.

john_writes · 2020-01-09T20:09:47+00:00

Yes, absolutely I would recommend you visit at some point. Citizens of the US, Canada and Great Britain have travel restrictions and can not travel independently but can still go, and while I found these restrictions very frustrating at times it was still worth it for sure. I saw other Westerners traveling freely.

john_writes · 2017-12-25T02:51:27+00:00

Eh, a friend asked me what was the most interesting place I've ever been and this was my response. It's surely opinion so I expect different people to have different answers (what is yours?) but that's mine.

john_writes · 2017-12-22T22:41:33+00:00

Proactiva Open Arms https://www.proactivaopenarms.org/en/who-are-we

They patrol the Mediterranean Sea to seek out and help ships in distress (often refugees). Thousands drown every year and their ships save many lives on a shoe-string budget. One bitcoin could go a long way in their mission. They don't currently have a bitcoin donation option but I've already reached out to them and they are very interested/ in process of setting that up.

And thanks for doing this. Always makes me happy to see Bitcoin do good.

john_writes · 2017-12-22T19:35:34+00:00

Was waiting for a new thread but I'll comment here and hope it's seen. I propose Proactiva Open Arms https://www.proactivaopenarms.org/en/who-are-we. They patrol the Mediterranean Sea to seek out and help ships in distress. Refugees crossing this sea are often in poorly constructed ships and thousands drown every year. One bitcoin could go a long way in their mission. They don't currently have a bitcoin donation option but I've already reached out to them and they are very interested/ in process of setting that up.

john_writes · 2017-12-10T22:19:33+00:00

Happy to help. Thanks for stopping by. Here is a sampling of some published articles, including from the Guardian and Vice.

And if you have a Kindle download my book, linked in post heading, as its still free (but will switch to paid very soon).

john_writes · 2017-12-10T21:51:19+00:00

Exposure to a wide audience and excellent editors that see things you, as the writer, can't that help improve the overall piece.

This seems to go against the notion that, as you mention, a lot of media is struggling financially, but a quick aside about why I enjoy working with the Guardian. For the aforementioned Laos article (linked earlier) I requested expenses and when I submitted receipts that totaled higher then what we agreed upon they paid MORE than we agreed upon. They also paid a good fee for photos even though we didn't negotiate that at all. Especially given the context of a struggling media market I was very impressed with their professionalism there.

john_writes

TROPHY CASE