Time to check back with El Salvador. During Bitcoin Week, it was so hectic down there that we didn’t know where to start. Everybody in the Bitcoin space visited San Salvador and El Zonte. The highlight was that President Bukele announced the project to build Bitcoin City and to issue $1B Bitcoin bonds to finance it, but Bitcoinist already covered that. What else happened? Everything. We couldn’t even begin to cover it all. So, we’re going to feature a lot of interesting stories with a lot of interesting people and call it a day.
Related Reading | ETH’s Vitalik Buterin Blasts El Salvador’s Bitcoin Law. Is He On To Something?
These are not the usual protagonist of the “News From El Salvador” section, so brace yourself for new blood.
Volcano Mining And Blockstream’s Satellite
- The mine powered by a volcano just got an upgrade. To kick off the week, they connected it to Blockstream’s satellite to guarantee 100% uptime. In the video news report, we see Samson Mow, Blockstream CSO, with President Bukele’s brother at the site.
El Salvador’s volcano mining operation received a #BlockstreamSatellite connectivity upgrade this week with Blockstream CSO @Excellion aiding in the installation. Watch the news coverage of the
mine receiving #Bitcoin blocks from space. pic.twitter.com/olfU7S5Hv9
— Blockstream (@Blockstream) November 18, 2021
- Still at the politician level, here we have a promotional video by Milena Mayorga, Ambassador of El Salvador to the United States. In it, we can see how lively LABITCONF was, and Mayorga kicking off the event.
El Salvador, la tierra de la #LibertadEconómica.
@labitconf #BitcoinWeek #BTC pic.twitter.com/Rc4leWsC7y
— Milena Mayorga (@MilenaMayorga) November 18, 2021
The Conferences And The Parties
- If you’re interested in LABITCOINF’s talks, Bitcoin Magazine livestreamed them all with an English-speaking interpreter to boot. Here’s Day One. Day Two is here. And Day Three. Now, if you want to feel the event’s vibe, check this short video out.
Explota @labitconf #LABITCONF pic.twitter.com/JFGBz9dqof
— Adam Du฿
(@dubdam) November 18, 2021
Also, the after-party:
ok … @labitconf pic.twitter.com/zZ3bEI7PtQ
— Francisco Calderón
BTC price chart for 11/27/2021 on FX | Source: BTC/USD on TradingView.com
Influencers During Bitcoin Week
- Let’s play How it Started/ How it’s Going, starring Bitcoin Rapid Fire’s Jhon Valis. It started with a conservative “Bullishness on El Salvador increasing rapidly,” and a list of positive characteristics:
Bullishness on El Salvador increasing rapidly.
Amazing people.
Stunning landscapes.#bitcoin everywhere.
Hope for the future.
Welcoming to bitcoiners.
Some really good energy brewing.
Gracias a la gente de El Salvador!
— John Vallis (@johnkvallis) November 19, 2021
After the events, Valis was considering immigration. “Might move to El Salvador for the sole reason that for 2 weeks it was so refreshing to be surrounded by hope and positive visions for the future.”
Might move to El Salvador for the sole reason that for 2 weeks it was so refreshing to be surrounded by hope and positive visions for the future, rather than the norm of anticipating the imminent collapse into tyranny and chaos everywhere else in the world.#bitcoin #ElSalvador
— John Vallis (@johnkvallis) November 21, 2021
- Now, let’s play the same game with LOReBitcoin. She’s a Mexican podcaster that runs the Bitcoin Embassy Bar in Mexico City. Here, we see her arriving and interacting with the Chivo ecosystem for the first time. “My experience here has been incredible, thank you for everything dear Salvadorans. We are going to give everything to Bitcoin week,” she says.
Mi ingreso al país más chivo del mundo #ElSalvador, quedó inmortalizado por un excelente fotógrafo en @migracion_sv
Mi experiencia acá ha sido increíble, gracias por todo queridos salvadoreños
Vamos a darle con todo a la #bitcoin weekpic.twitter.com/oYqsYOHpiu
— Lorena Ortiz (@LOReBitcoin) November 16, 2021
After the event, LOReBitcoin says: “For me, the best of LABITCONF have been all donations made to humanitarian causes. From donating La Bitcoineta to Bitcoin Beach, to the art auction to raise funds for a hospital, to the collection for the education of Builtwithbtc, just amazing”
— Lorena Ortiz (@LOReBitcoin) November 20, 2021
- Since 2018, La Bitcoineta toured Latin America spreading the Bitcoin gospel. After the events, the van is Bitcoin Beach’s official vehicle:
La Bitcoineta en @Bitcoinbeach
No podemos ocultar la alegría con todo lo que está sucediendo! @GabrielKurman @Bitcoinbeach pic.twitter.com/pJCyz1iEsv
— La Bitcoineta (@labitcoineta) November 21, 2021
There’s Life After Bitcoin Week
- The celebration might be over, but Bitcoin keeps working 24/7. After a week of events, four of the most well-known Bitcoin-only speakers in the space joined forces for this meetup:
¡Amigo salvadoreño!
De nuevo te invito a compartir con @juanbiter, @BtcAndres, @aveotero e @Ivadango para hablar sobre #Bitcoin
Nos veremos en #SandBox, este jueves a partir de las 18:00
Apoyan
@TiankiiPay@API3DAO @hodlwithLedn @bitrefill @criptominerca pic.twitter.com/tZk9zgZiWw
— #SatoshiEnSV
(@criptobastardo) November 25, 2021
And here’s a picture of the event by Darvin Otero, who Bitcoinist already featured in a “From The Ground” report. The panelists are showing the mempool, a very important tool.
El MemPool no debe faltar en cualquier #Bitcoin 101 Meetup #ElSalvador
Con Bitcoin rockstars de latam:
@juanbiter
@BtcAndres
@Ivadango
@criptobastardo pic.twitter.com/SPsj7seS3b— Darvin Otero
(@aveotero) November 26, 2021
Related Reading | From The Ground: The “Bitcoin In El Salvador” Documentary, What Did We Learn?
The dark shadow looming over the event was the Chivo Ecosystem. There were countless reports of the Chivo Wallet malfunctioning, receiving people’s sats but not processing the transactions. There were also reports of the Chivo ATMs doing the same and not giving people cash. We’ll cover that topic on the next “From The Ground” report, coming soon to a Bitcoinist near you.
Featured Image: Screenshot from this Milena Mayorga tweet | Charts by TradingView