El Zonte Restaurant Sees Rare Bitcoin Payment

Bitcoin adoption in El Salvador appears to be waning, according to recent reports from Bitcoin Core contributor Jon Atack. Atack, who has lived in El Salvador since 2022, claimed that a restaurant in El Zonte (also known as 'Bitcoin Beach') only received its first Bitcoin payment of the month when he paid for lunch.

The restaurant staff reportedly told him that Bitcoin payments had become 'practically non-existent' and that almost every customer now pays by card. A worker even declined a tip in satoshis because she had forgotten how to use her Bitcoin application.

This anecdotal account is consistent with earlier national surveys showing reduced consumer use of Bitcoin in El Salvador. A Universidad Centroamericana survey found that 8.1% of Salvadorans used Bitcoin to purchase or pay for something during 2024, down from 25.7% in 2021.

The decline in usage may be due to the tendency to hold Bitcoin rather than spend it, as well as price volatility and unfamiliar wallet processes. The El Salvador government made Bitcoin acceptance voluntary after revising its policy in February 2025, following a $1.4 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund.