Crypto
Bitcoin Payments Dry Up in El Salvador's Bitcoin Beach Community
El Salvador's experiment with Bitcoin as a mainstream payment method is facing another test. Recent reports from El Zonte, the coastal town that became synonymous with Bitcoin adoption, suggest that customers are increasingly choosing traditional payment methods such as cards and U.S. dollars instead of Bitcoin.
The latest anecdotal evidence came from Jon Atack, who reported that a restaurant in El Zonte received its first Bitcoin payment of the month when he used BTC to pay for lunch. Staff reportedly told him that most customers now pay by card.
El Salvador's regulatory shift has further changed the environment. The country introduced Bitcoin as legal tender in 2021, but reforms subsequently made private-sector acceptance voluntary.