Run with Bitcoin on Nostr: ARE YOU READY!!! Just wrapped up an epic 40-country journey using Bitcoin during the ...
ARE YOU READY!!!
Just wrapped up an epic 40-country journey using Bitcoin during the bear market! Following is the summary of my journey :)
If you enjoyed my adventure & want to support me while I search for a job, pls zap or check out the crowdfund campaign here:
https://geyser.fund/project/runwithbitcoin
I'd be truly grateful for any advice, leads for job.
Thanks & Blessings
Dear #bitcoin family, Thank you for believing in the Run with bitcoin journey. I was able to travel to more than 40 countries using Bitcoin.
Humans of Bitcoin are Kind.
Maximalist are humans too.
Love is the answer, Bitcoin is just a tool. Special Thanks to Pareen for gifting me the book the bitcoin standard by Saifdean and also the idea to travel around the world by using Bitcoin only. I sent over 1000 DM's & 45 People talked to me & began the journey with $200 worth of Sats (sold mi furniture)
This Journey is a tribute to all those you said yes to me (Yin), and those who said No, you were the yang in my life :)
1/40 Country India
Bengaluru, Pune, Mumbai, Surat, Vadodra, Ahemdabad, Rajkot, Jaipur, Delhi, Lucknow, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Kochi, Chandigarh, Goa.
These are some of the humans of who helped me from ideating to supporting to hosting to advising. Nobody knew me, but they believed in the madness. India is a Gold rich country, it's religious and is passed from 1 generation to next. Yet I was able to spend Bitcoin in India from buying a cup of tea to pizza to hotel to flight tickets to milk to gymnasium to shoes to tour guide. If you don't ask, the answer is always NO.
This all happened in 2021 when the law wasn't passed yet. The Current law doesn't permit you to trade goods & services for btc.
Yet you can buy and trade Bitcoin using one of the many exchanges. Bitcoin as a saving technology needs Education in regional languages.
India has a strong #btc developer community and this keeps getting stronger.
Thanks to programs like Summerofbitcoin, Bitcoin4india & bitshala, we have seen new breed of Bitcoiners coming through during this Bear Market.
I am bullish on India due to its youth and cheap internet.
2/40 country - UAE
This country is Fiat Rich where you will find 'To be Sovereign Individuals' This is the 1st time I experienced difference between Alt Coiners & #bitcoin bros :D Paid for Food with Bitcoin here and you can buy cars too. Lot of crypto influencers here living here. It's a Blockchain Mecca.
There is Bitcoin Oasis conference and Satoshi Roundtable happening in Feb 2024.
3/40 country - Thailand
2021, Covid round 2 was back and there was 1 opportunity to exit UAE & make it to Bangkok with 1 day Quarantine.
A generous Bitcoiner got me a flight ticket and I was there for a month. Used #btc in Bangkok, Koh Samui, Koh Phangan & Chiang Mai
I met a lot of expat Bitcoiners back then but recently found out about a physical space in Bangkok called BOB Space and a youtube channel run by
Piriya. Thanks to Bitcoiners for showing me around. You can buy food, massages, hostels, bike rentals, tattoos with #btc they have various #bitcoin & Crypto communities all around Thailand. The current laws have changed for use of Bitcoin for Goods & services. Pls DYOR. Umbrel was found there too:)Lot of BCash bros there :D
Country 4/40 - Cambodia
I used #bitcoin in Phnom Penh, Battambang, Siem Reap, Kampot, Koh Rong for paying my guide, homestay, boat/bus tickets, food, etc. Thanks to
Rithy for helping me connect with the local community. Cambodia is practically run by the Chinese. Cambodia has active landmines spread around Northern Part since 1971 Vietnam War. Post which they were run by a dictator Pol Pot for 5 years. Riel is stable & have P2P friendly market. There is a vast difference between the rich and poor. Blockchain bros are well spread.
Country 5/40 - Singapore
I was hosted by Vikram at Draper Startup House, back in the days they used to have BSV meet-ups, but we had a #bitcoin
only Meetup and Maxis, Bankers & VC's attended it. Bars & Restaurants accept #btc and have an amazing OTC Market.
Jamie runs amazing #btc Maximalish group and has bitcoin friendly businesses. Got to meet some hardcore Plebs too.
Amazing country in the world with some of the smartest humans, yet the adoption is low. Country 6/40 - Sri Lanka
Thanks to Ash, we met the local community through Nisal and used #btc in Kandy, Galle, Colombo, Sigriya, Ella, Hiriketiya Beach.
We hosted 6 meet-ups. Ash a Bitcoiner converts profits from Pineapple farm to Satoshis. Many P2P Traders there. Lankans suffered with Hyperinflation and resorted to using US$ and USDT. Sri Lanka ran out of Foreign Reserve, Petroleum ,Electricity cuts during this time. The President escaped the country too. Glad to see a #bitcoin only community Pearl of Satoshi started now
Country 7/40 - Qatar
Applied for Argentinian & Kenyan Visa from Doha. Only Kenyan got approved! I was here for 10 days & was able to do P2P & buy a cake for #bitcoin
Thanks Vasilo & Parag for hosting a meet-up with the community here. A crypto exchange recently started too.
Country 8/40 - Kenya
Surprised to meet the crypto community and couple of Bitcoiners during March 2022. Got Massage, food, phone, Matatu for #Bitcoin
We hosted meetups in Nairobi & Mombasa with Crypto Hub Kenya, Rufas & Franje. I spent 3 weeks in total in Kenya and now there is #bitcoin
only community in Nairobi called Bitcoin Dada run by Lorraine. Gridless Computer is a Distributed, rural, hydro Bitcoin mining in Africa that supports local energy development started by whiteafrican. Kenya was founder of Mobile money i.e.Mpesa, Now #btc is sent via same technology. Kenyan shilling lost 50% of its value over the last year and half, coupled with change in Govt. and hyperinflation has been challenging. Lots of Blockchain & Tech savvy humans are bringing the change. Kenya is a very strong country, it’s all because of micro p2p communities.
Country 9/40 - Uganda
A very strong East African country and got to meet Brindon & Afan who run a whatsapp group for Crypto enthusiasts in Kampala. We hosted a #bitcoin
only meetup in Kampala and orange pilled couple of places. USDT is preferred here though. There are couple of crypto exchanges such as Binusu & Yellowcard along with Binance and others. 6 months later passing through I also came across an OTC Desk in downtown Kampala and now they have #bitcoin only community called Bitcoin Kampala & Gorilla Sats.
Country 10/40 - Tanzania
Hosted 2 #bitcoin meetups in Dar e Salaam & Arusha, orange pilled my guide to Mt Kilimanjaro, though after the hike bitcoin had dropped $10,000 had to pay him 25% more. Humans of Tanzania are very calm & have the strongest currency in the region. Got to meet Sandra who has written a book about blockchain in the local Swahili language. 1 can travel miles without network coverage, and the ones who use crypto are traders only. In 2022, I hardly witnessed any adoption.
Country 11/40 - Malawi
Land locked country Hosted three #bitcoin meetups in Nkhata bay, Lilongwe & Blantyre and yet again only crypto P2P traders. Folks there use Binance or yellow card for trading. I was able to share sats with only 10 people. Currency also devalued from 450 Kwacha to 2000 Kwacha in a span of 1 year that's 300 % devaluation. Most expats are running business, drain the wealth & send it out of the country leaving the country poor with regular power cuts and inflation. Recently #btc mining was started by Gridless Computers.
Country 12/40-Mozambique
Portugese speaking with mega corruption and the meticals (MZN) was revalued from 24,500/USD to 1:1 in 2005. I was able to host 3 #bitcoin
meetups in Tete, Tofo, Maputo. Orange pilled 10 folks and used P2P via Paxful here. The commission was 10%. Also paid for shorts/artesian work via Lightning to a contact of Herman in Tofu. Got food, stay, tours - all paid with #btc. I couldn't find a local P2P/crypto community due to lack of Portugese. Maputo is culturally rich and the country has oil reserves in the north.
Country 13/40-Zimbabwe
As I crossed the border, my bus met with an accident. All survived. Thanks to Alexander & Langa for assisting with three #bitcoin meetups in Bulawayo, Harare & Victoria Falls. Here the, Rich get richer and the Poor remains Poor. Zimbabwe had Hyperinflation in 2000's with $1 reaching Billions& Trillions in local currency. They dollarized from 2008 to 2016 & then went back to using their own newly printed Zimbabwean bonds. That has devalued 20 times since last year. From $1=500 ZWB to $1 = 11500 ZWB. Some great #bitcoin educational work is being carried out by Anita Posch here and in Zambia. In Harare I found a car dealer who uses Crypto to import cars, and another man bought a house through P2P trades. Lots of Forex traders here. Income gap is humongous.
Country 14/40 -Zambia
Crossed the magical Victoria Falls and found an anarchist who is running a hostel accepting #bitcoin also hosted 3 bitcoin meetups in Lusaka, Ndola & Kitwe. Zambia is rich in natural resources but even their currency was devalued to $1 = 10,000 Kwacha in 2012. Here also Ania Posch has educational programs with Bitcoin for fairness. Some good #bitcoin maxis here too. We had a good BBQ meetup and orange pilled a restaurant in Lusaka. Lot of crypto scams have ruined the adoption here.
Country 15/40 - Rwanda
I was in Kigali for 5 days & hosted a #bitcoin meetup there with Nobert & friends. I was able to get food, car wash for #btc. There are several crypto P2P & Forex traders. Its President is in power for more than 20 years now.
Country 16/40 -Botswana
I was here 10 days and we hosted a #bitcoin meet-up in Gaborone with Alakanani-the bitcoin lady, Josh & Chris. They are good humans that are spreading the word of hard money. From Permaculture to education, it's happening. Huge income gap between rich & poor though.
Country 17/40 - Nigeria
Thanks to Paxful & Ray Yusuf or the support, we hosted #bitcoin meetups in Lagos, Abuja, Kaduna, Akure & Port Harcourt.
250 million people here with over 100 languages and a good #btc community. Yet P2P Traders prefer USDT. I travelled by road & felt safe everywhere.I met lovely Bitcoiners. There is also a Lighting app called Bitnob that lets you DCA. The Youth will be the driving force behind adoption.
Country 18/40-Cameroon
Hosted 3 #bitcoin meetups in Buea, Douala & Yaounde with amazing bitcoiners. There is a #btc only community called Bitcoin Mountain in the English speaking region of Buea. A kids book teaching called Kids Bitcoin was launched last year. Cameroon is oil rich and uses the CFA currency thats controlled ny the French Govt since independence. CFA is stable but inflation has affected them all. Will #btc reach the common man here? Only time will tell.
Country 19/40- Central African Republic
CAR was the 2nd country to announce #bitcoin as a legal tender and I made my way there to find its rich in natural resources but poor in infrastructure. Corruption, French Govt & UN haven't let this country grow. And no1 used #btc. Hosted a meet-up in Bangui, & 4 folks joined as I didn't speak french. It took me 3 days to reach the capital via road from Cameroon,& there was no education about #btc from the govt. Even the five star hotels didn't use it.I was able to orange pill 5 people during the week. There were regular power cuts, resulting to no network coverage, & military on the streets. I couch surfed with a local and the income gap is drastic. Out of 5 Million ppl, only 5% had money. Got to visit the presidents office and they shilled me Sango Coin. A year later #bitcoin was no more a legal tender. There were constant checkpoints every 20 Kms and you had to pay a toll/tax of $ 3-5 at every crossing. Rich in Gas, Gold, Diamonds, copper, lithium, yet the common man struggles to earn basic wages. No P2P traders too.
Country 20/40 -DR Congo
I didn't use #btc here as the plan was to cross DRC in 2 days & head to South Sudan. Google showed me the journey is 1600 kms. But they had NO ROADS in the northern Congo! It took me 9 days changed 3 bike riders and I barely made it to S.Sudan. There are no roads, no network, no electricity when you cross the heart of Africa. The mighty jungles of DR Congo have small villages and all along the river and alcohol is cheaper than saving for future here. Constant tribal battles keep UN involved here with no success.
Country 20/40-South Sudan
Youngest oil rich country in the world, got independence from Sudan in 2011.
SSP 1 = $ 3 in 2011
SSP 650 = $ 1 in 2022
SSP 1100 = $ 1 in 2023
I almost lost my life crossing the refugee camps from North East DR Congo into S.Sudan due to tribal wars. I met Deng who assisted me in hosting a #bitcoin only meetup at Koneta hub in Juba. There are BCash people there too.I was able to do couple of P2P trades in S.Sudan & I left the country in a week's time. From Bush to being educated, really bullish on this country. They have good food here.
Country 21/40 - Ethiopia
Couldn't cross from Sudan to reach here coz of no roads and gangs controlling the borders. Took bus from Kenya to Addis Ababa. Hosted couple of #bitcoin meetups in Addis & La Libela. Thanks to Kal Kassa for running Bitcoin Birr Community.I paid my hostel, bar, restaurant with #bitcoin and also got to meet Nemo who was working toward #btc mining called QR Labs. They have Best coffee & food in Africa is here in Ethiopia and here also the tribes are fighting for power. The Ja Rastafari movement started here too.
Country 22/40 - El Salvador
400 days journey had ended and i finally made it to the land of #bitcoin for Adopting Bitcoin Conference and got to meet all the believers of the eco system. Mike Peterson inspired a movement that led to #btc being a legal country. For once I was free to talk/use bitcoin FINALLY! Locals still prefer USD and are skeptical of #btc given the failure of FTX & Celsius that wrecked 2022. Lightning is the way forward. Even Mi Primer Bitcoin program started. Now we have couple of other circular economies in Berlin & the island. Please Do visit.
Country 23/40 - Senegal
Thanks to Nouru for inviting me for the 1st ever Dakar Bitcoin Days held in 2022. He is running @BtcpayServer and has 10 business accepting #btc in Dakar. There are blockchain folks around and he is fighting the good fight. Only time will tell though.
Country 24/40 - Ghana
Thanks to Farida for organising the 1st ever African Bitcoin Conference in Accra. Got to meet lot of bitcoiners from all around Africa & the world.
The conference was all signal & showed how Africa will grow with #bitcoin and vice versa. A #bitcoin community started called Bitcoin Cowries along with a surf shop now accepting #btc orange pilled by Herman, Jesse and others. We also visited bitcoin educational centre built with bitcoin in Kumasi. Ghana Cedi was also devalued by removing Four zeros.
Country 25/40-South Africa
Hosted meetups & used #btc in Johannesburg, Durban, Pretoria, Cape Town, Mossel Bay, White River
Got mugged on day 2 in Joburg & Steve rescued me & took me to his house. The community got me a new phone in 3 hours bought using
Bitrefill. Also Broke my GoPro in Durban & a humble bitcoiner got me a new one, thanks to Tricky for showing me around. He has orange pilled his whole family at $50K, #btc was trading at $16K in 2023 Jan. Kg,the founder of Machankura held a meetup in Pretoria & we used Azteco vouchers to buy #btc from everyday stores. Thats Cash to Bitcoin with 10% commission. Great #btc community in Cape Town, got to use btc at Pic n Pay markets via Crptoconverted app that accepts Lightning. Very good maxi community is around in this magical city. Then we drove to Mossel Bay, where Got to meet Herman & Luthando who run Bitcoin Ekasi, a #btc circular economy where all employees are paid in Sats and they use it multiple shops accepting bitcoin. This township is beautiful and they are hosting their first ever conference - Adopting Bitcoin Conference in January 2024. Also got to meet
Jane who hosted a meetup in White River too. As of now there are other #btc economies as Bitcoinubuntu & Bitcoinwitsand that have started along the garden route. One of the strongest currencies has lost value due to overprinting and corruption. Also got to meet Rand, One of the strongest currencies has lost value due to overprinting and corruption.
Country 26/40 - Brazil
Thanks to Fernando for inviting me to the Brazilian #bitcoin Carnival in Feb, 2023 -Jericoacoara where he started the 1st ever #btc circular economy
Called Praia Bitcoin. They are also the founders of Bitcoin POS Machines & 'Fruit for 10 sats' program in local school. Also Hosted 4 meetups in Porto Alegre, Florianópolis, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. They also host the annual #btc conferences called satsconf! 250 million people & adoption is growing!There two other #bitcoin circular economies that were inspired from Praia Bitcoin. They are called Montanah Bitcoin in Minas Gerais and Bitocoineaqui run in Rolante, South Brazil. They have various business accepting #btc but not many spenders!
Country 27/40 - Costa Rica
Nostrica conference was happening in March in Uvita & Dominical where Bitcoin Jungle,a #bitcoin circular economy is started by a group of expats like Govinda, Richard, Lee, Hans & Francis. They have a great team for #btc education too!Hosted 2 other meetups in San Jose & Santa Teressa where I learnt lot of Blockchain folks are pushing to make this crypto friendly country. Orosi,a small town near Capital is called the crypto city. There were various #bitcoin ATM around the country, yet no education so far.
Country 28/40 - Mexico
Thanks to Maciej, Traveled to 7 different cities,
in CDMX with Lorena
in Queretaro with Gustavo & Tristan
in San Miguel de Allende with Andrew
in Guadalajara with Chris
in Puerto Vallarta with Julio
in Puebla with Erick
in Merida with Amanda
in Tulum for Crypto fest
This is a cash rich country, Mexican Peso gained 20% in value to USD & has the likes of Ricardo Salinas backing #bitcoin through his Banco Azteca.
A new circular economy called Bitcoin Yucutan also has started in Sisal. Expats & locals are spreading the word of #bitcoin in this humongous country like Jimmy in Baja California & Dulce and many moe. As across USDT is preferred by P2P Traders too.
Country 29/30 - Miami, USA
Was invited to speak at the bitcoin conference by mcshane. It was a pleasant feeling meeting all the famous bitcoiners and spending sats to buy goodies/food was awesome. 2024 will be in Nashville. Ordinals to Presidential Candidate were there!
Country 29/30 - Cuba
Visited with Joe & got to meet the local #btc community run by Forte & Catrya. Over 70 folks came for the meetup and paid via lightning. Was surprised to find over 15 merchants accepting Bitcoin and Tether. Lot has changed, Cuban Pesos devalued from $1-25 CUP to $1-250CUP in 2 years, death of Fidel Castro has led to entrepreneurship on the island, where many small business exist now & almost everything is imported.
Basic wage of a Cuban is $12/month & are allowed to leave Cuba with a visa only! There are many more bitcoiners spread around the island like
Bitalion & Erich and some blockchain & Hive community also exist. Family receives remittances from abroad and the youth wants to escape the country, costing almost $10,000 as of now. Will #bitcoin help ?
Country 30/40 - Jamaica
Spent 10 days to realise the Carribean's are expensive and its cash preferred economy regularly visited by Cruise Ships. Hosted a #bitcoin meetup in Kingston with Edwards from Draper Startup house and learnt that kids lack basic mathematical skills. I did orange pill my hostel and a cafe on my visit. While eating Jerk Chicken, I learnt #bitcoin doesnt reach the poor and the rich don't care. Pizza please sell Pizza for discount for payments in #sats Jamaica has launched its own CBDC called Jamdex. Lets Hope for the best.
Country 31/40- Haiti
Only country where I couldn't use #bitcoin, nor orange pill anyone. I don't speak french. Shortest visit of only 5 days, I as I heard gun shorts and left the next morning. I visited Port au Prince & Cap Haitien. Why Haiti crippled ? From the 1791-1804 slave uprising to present day, Haiti has faced numerous challenges. They fought for independence, but were forced to pay 150 million francs to their former slave masters. This debt burden crippled their development, with up to 80% of their income going towards repayments. Haitians had to take loans from French Banks to pay back the French Debt. This is known as Double Debt. In the early 1900s, 7 presidents were killed or removed. Leading to US interference in 1915. US took control of institutions such as banks and national treasury .This increased debt payments to 40% of income, now to US and French Banks. Had Haiti not paid these debts, they would be $21 billion richer today. The US left in 1934, but not before exploiting them with forced labor and weakening the economy. In 1957, the Tonton Macoute, a paramilitary group, was formed to protect the president from any possible military coup. They later aided different administrations. In 1991, the president was ousted, causing chaos and mayhem and in 1994, the US intervened again with UN troops. Gangs continued operating under different political parties, and the 2010 earthquake further devastated the country. Over 300,000 people were killed. Another earthquake in 2021, coupled with the assassination of the president, has left Haiti vulnerable to over 200 gangs controlling vital resources near the capital of Port Au Prince, such as customs, fuel, electricity, water. International intervention is imminent. Haiti was the most lucrative country rich in Cafe,Cacao, Sugar, Gold,Copper,Natural Gas. All this misery just keeps out a common man from visiting this country. #bitcoin may be one of the answers to all this problems, only if their is a chance at peace & dialogue.
Country 32/40 - Dominican Republic
Hosted couple of #btc meetups in Santiago & Santo Domingo and met the crypto bros. Thanks to Instafinanza and Pedro for showing me around.
This is a crypto friendly island. Some anarchists have moved here due to relaxed immigration laws. Used #bitcoin for hostel, food, wing surfing, kite surfing, & day to day activities. There are #btc atms all around along with several OTC facilities. Its a preferred destination for many Canadian & Russians. One of my fav islands so far!
Country 33/40 - Puerto Rico
Alana, the producer of the dirty coin documentary hosted me in Las Palmas where we hosted a #bitcoin meetup, and another one was in San Juan during Crypto Mondays. Also got to meet dustin who is running a node since 2009!Lot of Bitcoiners here. Many Millionaires & Billionaires have shifted to Puerto Rico for 0% tax benefits, hence you will see silent adopters of crypto but none on the streets. I was only able to use #bitcoin at San Juan Smokehouse. There is Bitdevs community here too.
Country 34/40 - Trinidad & Tobago
Thanks to Arvin for hosting me in Port of Spain. They have the best food in the Caribbean! We hosted a #bitcoin meetup with Mark & other bitcoiners You can buy Pizza with #btc here too. We went for a morning run with the community in POS and also got to meet Rohan,a Jamaican bitcoiner in Tobago island. Here is where i failed in orange pilling my 65 yr old hostel owner who called me cynical and asked me to chill out and enjoy this beautiful paradise.
Country 35/40 - Suriname
Thanks Maya for inviting me over to see the initial stages of #bitcoin community in works. We hosted a meetup & shared sats with all and same was used in the restaurant for food & drinks. There was an Optic shop that preferred USDT over #btc Suriname just found Natural Gas & is 90% forest and has people primarily from Indonesia, China, Africa & India. There were couple of other restaurants accepting #btc Thanks to Gabriel & Rick.
Now there is Bitcoin Sranan community which runs fruits for 10 sats program!
Country 36/40 - Panama
Majestic Panama Canal is a human marvel and major source of this dollarized country. Parliament had voted in favour of #bitcoin as a legal tender but the President Vetoed it out. Its a tax haven for many expats and the community is strong here. We hosted a #bitcoin meetup with Enrique & Aldo in Panama City where Tower Bank also helps in on Ramp & off ramp. I Paid my hostel with #btc too. Traveled to Santa Catalina & paid my guide in sats & in Boquete met Adrian who has orange pilled cafes&restaurants.
Country 37/40 - Nicaragua
Its surfers paradise and beautiful country to travel but really difficult to live in with no money. It's cheap but you can feel similar vibes like in Cuba, where the people look for opportunities abroad. The Ortegas run Nicaragua since 2007. Traveled to San Juan del Sur, paid for lunch with #btc
at Surf Ranch, then to Omotepe where I was invited to stay at Lightning friendly place, followed by Granada & then Managua. We hosted a meetup here with Alejandro who runs a local blockchain community. Its not very public. I also got a power bank, paid with Lightning in Managua too. Then I head to Lyon where Lenon runs a KPOP & Ramen shop accepting #btc I highly doubt Nicaragua will adopt #Bitcoingiven its political situation. HRFrecently funded Educational program run by Berta.
Country 38/40 - Honduras
Thanks Juan for hosting a #bitcoin meetup in Tegucigalpa and for running 5 bitcoin Atm's around Honduras. We got haircut, electronics for #BTC
in Tegucigalpa. I shared some sats with my host too & then made my way to Roatan island. In Roatan, there is free city called Prospera Global
whose legal tender is #bitcoin and also has amazing Bitcoin Educational initiatives run by Dusan, Gabriel, Zussel, Ariana. ITs called Amity Age. They have orange pilled over 100 business and teach schools. They also run #bitcoin tours where you get to experience the Carribean, all paid in #bitcoin
Amity Age runs mining operations in Paraguay and then use the profits to orange pill this island in Honduras. Most of the business HODL their sats!
Self sustainable economy!
Country 38/40 - USA
Visited TABCONF in Atlanta & met many developers This conference is GOAT & find the #bitcoin hunt is amazing. Thanks
Tidwell. Then attended Global Bitcoin Summit organised by HRF, met 100+ plebs from 54 countries. Thanks Arsh,Alex,ALex & CK
Country 39/40 - Peru
Visited here with Joe to document bitcoin adoption done by Motiv n Global run by Vali & Richard. Unbelievable to see how #btc helps townships in Lima, Tarapoto & Cusco regions from Jungles to Mountains. Great work done by Orange Pill Peru community. If this was the vision of Satoshi, then this project is the proof that #bitcoin is for everyone!Over 15 circular economies using bitcoin, as all are unbanked. We bought food to stay to Machu Picchu to gifts to massage all was paid using Lightning on blink wallet. This is the best project so far!
Country 39/40 - India,Indonesia,Japan
Spoke at 2nd Bitcoin Conf by Bitcoin4India. Thanks Anant & Abhilash for organising
Spoke at 1st Indonesia Conf. Thanks Dea for organising
Spoke at #Nostrasia in Tokyo,Japan.Thanks jack (npub1sg6…f63m) for hosting.
Country 40/40 - Guatemala
My last country & 4 #bitcoin economies here. I used Osmo Wallet during the 2 week journey. There is
El Barrio Bitcoin in Guatemala City
Antigua Bitcoin in Antigua
Lake Bitcoin in Panajachel
Bitcoin Lake in San Marcos
Paid for food, stay, hike all with #bitcoin in Guatemala. A community was started here in 2014 and all of them started their own business. Guatemalan Quetzal is the strongest currency in Central America. It has been stable for decades. Then Central Bank & the Govt are 2 diff entities. I was glad to meet Rishi who was an Eth believer and is now teaching #bitcoin to expat community in San Marcos. The economy in Panajachel is just across the lake is run by Eliziar where over 60 business accept #btc and there is an ATM too. This is ground up approach that was inspired from El Salvador's Bitcoin Beach project.I was 100% on #bitcoin during my stay there. Blessings!
Country 41/40 - Curacao
Thanks Peter Kroll for inviting me for finale of the journey. Peter is the founder of Paper Wallet, that I used in the start of Run with Bitcoin and here I was ending too. Over 50 business accept #btc here. Peter is focussed on education here.I paid for my flights, hotel, taxi, food, tourism, sim card, gifts all using #bitcoin Lightning. There are billboards shilling bitcoin around the island. We went around and orange pilled couple of restaurants too. The community is bitcoin maxi and some use USDT for P2P trades too.
Gratitude Post
Thanks to Bitrefill for supporting this journey. They were the pillar!
I used #bitcoin to buy services in 40 countries for Phone Refills, Uber, Esim, amazon vouchers, flights, hotels/airbnb, vpn, clothes/shoes, fuel, decathlon, supermarkets, games!
Thanks to Mahin Gupta for supporting the 1st year of the journey and connecting me to Suril Desai who has been a dear friend from start till the end.
Thanks Paxful, Foundation Devices for supporting my African leg of the journey.
I initially started by crowdfund page with btcpayserver (npub1nfe…4gf7) as a class A citizen running a #bitcoin node on Luna Node and managing the liquidity was an adventure. For the 2nd leg, I shifted to @geyserfund and was getting Lightning sats directly to my @walletofsatoshi for 2% fee.
Last 7 months of the trip was supported by Bitcoin4india. They have been educating Indians about #btc for the past 2 years and have hosted 2 Conferences in Goa & Bengaluru.I was in need & Anant & Abhilash came through to support a fellow bitcoiner :)
Special thanks to Mike Peterson for supporting the last 7 months of journey too. Having met Mike in 5 different countries, & having the same vision got us connected! #bitcoin circular economy is the goal. If you are willing to start such an economy, Mike will advise you.
TRUTH TIME-
Over 500 contributions were received on @BtcpayServer & @geyserfund in last 812 days from bitcoiners all around the world. Support with love goes a long way. This tells you everyone who has #bitcoin is equal & powerful.
Blessings & Power to y'all!
Hugs
Is #bitcoin really for everyone?
I don't think so.
Will bitcoin save the World?
Yes, it can.
Will common man use bitcoin?
Not for next 20 years.
What is needed for bitcoin adoption?
Education in regional language is must, not just making noise on Social Media.
DM for more
Just wrapped up an epic 40-country journey using Bitcoin during the bear market! Following is the summary of my journey :)
If you enjoyed my adventure & want to support me while I search for a job, pls zap or check out the crowdfund campaign here:
https://geyser.fund/project/runwithbitcoin
I'd be truly grateful for any advice, leads for job.
Thanks & Blessings
Dear #bitcoin family, Thank you for believing in the Run with bitcoin journey. I was able to travel to more than 40 countries using Bitcoin.
Humans of Bitcoin are Kind.
Maximalist are humans too.
Love is the answer, Bitcoin is just a tool. Special Thanks to Pareen for gifting me the book the bitcoin standard by Saifdean and also the idea to travel around the world by using Bitcoin only. I sent over 1000 DM's & 45 People talked to me & began the journey with $200 worth of Sats (sold mi furniture)
This Journey is a tribute to all those you said yes to me (Yin), and those who said No, you were the yang in my life :)
1/40 Country India
Bengaluru, Pune, Mumbai, Surat, Vadodra, Ahemdabad, Rajkot, Jaipur, Delhi, Lucknow, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Kochi, Chandigarh, Goa.
These are some of the humans of who helped me from ideating to supporting to hosting to advising. Nobody knew me, but they believed in the madness. India is a Gold rich country, it's religious and is passed from 1 generation to next. Yet I was able to spend Bitcoin in India from buying a cup of tea to pizza to hotel to flight tickets to milk to gymnasium to shoes to tour guide. If you don't ask, the answer is always NO.
This all happened in 2021 when the law wasn't passed yet. The Current law doesn't permit you to trade goods & services for btc.
Yet you can buy and trade Bitcoin using one of the many exchanges. Bitcoin as a saving technology needs Education in regional languages.
India has a strong #btc developer community and this keeps getting stronger.
Thanks to programs like Summerofbitcoin, Bitcoin4india & bitshala, we have seen new breed of Bitcoiners coming through during this Bear Market.
I am bullish on India due to its youth and cheap internet.
2/40 country - UAE
This country is Fiat Rich where you will find 'To be Sovereign Individuals' This is the 1st time I experienced difference between Alt Coiners & #bitcoin bros :D Paid for Food with Bitcoin here and you can buy cars too. Lot of crypto influencers here living here. It's a Blockchain Mecca.
There is Bitcoin Oasis conference and Satoshi Roundtable happening in Feb 2024.
3/40 country - Thailand
2021, Covid round 2 was back and there was 1 opportunity to exit UAE & make it to Bangkok with 1 day Quarantine.
A generous Bitcoiner got me a flight ticket and I was there for a month. Used #btc in Bangkok, Koh Samui, Koh Phangan & Chiang Mai
I met a lot of expat Bitcoiners back then but recently found out about a physical space in Bangkok called BOB Space and a youtube channel run by
Piriya. Thanks to Bitcoiners for showing me around. You can buy food, massages, hostels, bike rentals, tattoos with #btc they have various #bitcoin & Crypto communities all around Thailand. The current laws have changed for use of Bitcoin for Goods & services. Pls DYOR. Umbrel was found there too:)Lot of BCash bros there :D
Country 4/40 - Cambodia
I used #bitcoin in Phnom Penh, Battambang, Siem Reap, Kampot, Koh Rong for paying my guide, homestay, boat/bus tickets, food, etc. Thanks to
Rithy for helping me connect with the local community. Cambodia is practically run by the Chinese. Cambodia has active landmines spread around Northern Part since 1971 Vietnam War. Post which they were run by a dictator Pol Pot for 5 years. Riel is stable & have P2P friendly market. There is a vast difference between the rich and poor. Blockchain bros are well spread.
Country 5/40 - Singapore
I was hosted by Vikram at Draper Startup House, back in the days they used to have BSV meet-ups, but we had a #bitcoin
only Meetup and Maxis, Bankers & VC's attended it. Bars & Restaurants accept #btc and have an amazing OTC Market.
Jamie runs amazing #btc Maximalish group and has bitcoin friendly businesses. Got to meet some hardcore Plebs too.
Amazing country in the world with some of the smartest humans, yet the adoption is low. Country 6/40 - Sri Lanka
Thanks to Ash, we met the local community through Nisal and used #btc in Kandy, Galle, Colombo, Sigriya, Ella, Hiriketiya Beach.
We hosted 6 meet-ups. Ash a Bitcoiner converts profits from Pineapple farm to Satoshis. Many P2P Traders there. Lankans suffered with Hyperinflation and resorted to using US$ and USDT. Sri Lanka ran out of Foreign Reserve, Petroleum ,Electricity cuts during this time. The President escaped the country too. Glad to see a #bitcoin only community Pearl of Satoshi started now
Country 7/40 - Qatar
Applied for Argentinian & Kenyan Visa from Doha. Only Kenyan got approved! I was here for 10 days & was able to do P2P & buy a cake for #bitcoin
Thanks Vasilo & Parag for hosting a meet-up with the community here. A crypto exchange recently started too.
Country 8/40 - Kenya
Surprised to meet the crypto community and couple of Bitcoiners during March 2022. Got Massage, food, phone, Matatu for #Bitcoin
We hosted meetups in Nairobi & Mombasa with Crypto Hub Kenya, Rufas & Franje. I spent 3 weeks in total in Kenya and now there is #bitcoin
only community in Nairobi called Bitcoin Dada run by Lorraine. Gridless Computer is a Distributed, rural, hydro Bitcoin mining in Africa that supports local energy development started by whiteafrican. Kenya was founder of Mobile money i.e.Mpesa, Now #btc is sent via same technology. Kenyan shilling lost 50% of its value over the last year and half, coupled with change in Govt. and hyperinflation has been challenging. Lots of Blockchain & Tech savvy humans are bringing the change. Kenya is a very strong country, it’s all because of micro p2p communities.
Country 9/40 - Uganda
A very strong East African country and got to meet Brindon & Afan who run a whatsapp group for Crypto enthusiasts in Kampala. We hosted a #bitcoin
only meetup in Kampala and orange pilled couple of places. USDT is preferred here though. There are couple of crypto exchanges such as Binusu & Yellowcard along with Binance and others. 6 months later passing through I also came across an OTC Desk in downtown Kampala and now they have #bitcoin only community called Bitcoin Kampala & Gorilla Sats.
Country 10/40 - Tanzania
Hosted 2 #bitcoin meetups in Dar e Salaam & Arusha, orange pilled my guide to Mt Kilimanjaro, though after the hike bitcoin had dropped $10,000 had to pay him 25% more. Humans of Tanzania are very calm & have the strongest currency in the region. Got to meet Sandra who has written a book about blockchain in the local Swahili language. 1 can travel miles without network coverage, and the ones who use crypto are traders only. In 2022, I hardly witnessed any adoption.
Country 11/40 - Malawi
Land locked country Hosted three #bitcoin meetups in Nkhata bay, Lilongwe & Blantyre and yet again only crypto P2P traders. Folks there use Binance or yellow card for trading. I was able to share sats with only 10 people. Currency also devalued from 450 Kwacha to 2000 Kwacha in a span of 1 year that's 300 % devaluation. Most expats are running business, drain the wealth & send it out of the country leaving the country poor with regular power cuts and inflation. Recently #btc mining was started by Gridless Computers.
Country 12/40-Mozambique
Portugese speaking with mega corruption and the meticals (MZN) was revalued from 24,500/USD to 1:1 in 2005. I was able to host 3 #bitcoin
meetups in Tete, Tofo, Maputo. Orange pilled 10 folks and used P2P via Paxful here. The commission was 10%. Also paid for shorts/artesian work via Lightning to a contact of Herman in Tofu. Got food, stay, tours - all paid with #btc. I couldn't find a local P2P/crypto community due to lack of Portugese. Maputo is culturally rich and the country has oil reserves in the north.
Country 13/40-Zimbabwe
As I crossed the border, my bus met with an accident. All survived. Thanks to Alexander & Langa for assisting with three #bitcoin meetups in Bulawayo, Harare & Victoria Falls. Here the, Rich get richer and the Poor remains Poor. Zimbabwe had Hyperinflation in 2000's with $1 reaching Billions& Trillions in local currency. They dollarized from 2008 to 2016 & then went back to using their own newly printed Zimbabwean bonds. That has devalued 20 times since last year. From $1=500 ZWB to $1 = 11500 ZWB. Some great #bitcoin educational work is being carried out by Anita Posch here and in Zambia. In Harare I found a car dealer who uses Crypto to import cars, and another man bought a house through P2P trades. Lots of Forex traders here. Income gap is humongous.
Country 14/40 -Zambia
Crossed the magical Victoria Falls and found an anarchist who is running a hostel accepting #bitcoin also hosted 3 bitcoin meetups in Lusaka, Ndola & Kitwe. Zambia is rich in natural resources but even their currency was devalued to $1 = 10,000 Kwacha in 2012. Here also Ania Posch has educational programs with Bitcoin for fairness. Some good #bitcoin maxis here too. We had a good BBQ meetup and orange pilled a restaurant in Lusaka. Lot of crypto scams have ruined the adoption here.
Country 15/40 - Rwanda
I was in Kigali for 5 days & hosted a #bitcoin meetup there with Nobert & friends. I was able to get food, car wash for #btc. There are several crypto P2P & Forex traders. Its President is in power for more than 20 years now.
Country 16/40 -Botswana
I was here 10 days and we hosted a #bitcoin meet-up in Gaborone with Alakanani-the bitcoin lady, Josh & Chris. They are good humans that are spreading the word of hard money. From Permaculture to education, it's happening. Huge income gap between rich & poor though.
Country 17/40 - Nigeria
Thanks to Paxful & Ray Yusuf or the support, we hosted #bitcoin meetups in Lagos, Abuja, Kaduna, Akure & Port Harcourt.
250 million people here with over 100 languages and a good #btc community. Yet P2P Traders prefer USDT. I travelled by road & felt safe everywhere.I met lovely Bitcoiners. There is also a Lighting app called Bitnob that lets you DCA. The Youth will be the driving force behind adoption.
Country 18/40-Cameroon
Hosted 3 #bitcoin meetups in Buea, Douala & Yaounde with amazing bitcoiners. There is a #btc only community called Bitcoin Mountain in the English speaking region of Buea. A kids book teaching called Kids Bitcoin was launched last year. Cameroon is oil rich and uses the CFA currency thats controlled ny the French Govt since independence. CFA is stable but inflation has affected them all. Will #btc reach the common man here? Only time will tell.
Country 19/40- Central African Republic
CAR was the 2nd country to announce #bitcoin as a legal tender and I made my way there to find its rich in natural resources but poor in infrastructure. Corruption, French Govt & UN haven't let this country grow. And no1 used #btc. Hosted a meet-up in Bangui, & 4 folks joined as I didn't speak french. It took me 3 days to reach the capital via road from Cameroon,& there was no education about #btc from the govt. Even the five star hotels didn't use it.I was able to orange pill 5 people during the week. There were regular power cuts, resulting to no network coverage, & military on the streets. I couch surfed with a local and the income gap is drastic. Out of 5 Million ppl, only 5% had money. Got to visit the presidents office and they shilled me Sango Coin. A year later #bitcoin was no more a legal tender. There were constant checkpoints every 20 Kms and you had to pay a toll/tax of $ 3-5 at every crossing. Rich in Gas, Gold, Diamonds, copper, lithium, yet the common man struggles to earn basic wages. No P2P traders too.
Country 20/40 -DR Congo
I didn't use #btc here as the plan was to cross DRC in 2 days & head to South Sudan. Google showed me the journey is 1600 kms. But they had NO ROADS in the northern Congo! It took me 9 days changed 3 bike riders and I barely made it to S.Sudan. There are no roads, no network, no electricity when you cross the heart of Africa. The mighty jungles of DR Congo have small villages and all along the river and alcohol is cheaper than saving for future here. Constant tribal battles keep UN involved here with no success.
Country 20/40-South Sudan
Youngest oil rich country in the world, got independence from Sudan in 2011.
SSP 1 = $ 3 in 2011
SSP 650 = $ 1 in 2022
SSP 1100 = $ 1 in 2023
I almost lost my life crossing the refugee camps from North East DR Congo into S.Sudan due to tribal wars. I met Deng who assisted me in hosting a #bitcoin only meetup at Koneta hub in Juba. There are BCash people there too.I was able to do couple of P2P trades in S.Sudan & I left the country in a week's time. From Bush to being educated, really bullish on this country. They have good food here.
Country 21/40 - Ethiopia
Couldn't cross from Sudan to reach here coz of no roads and gangs controlling the borders. Took bus from Kenya to Addis Ababa. Hosted couple of #bitcoin meetups in Addis & La Libela. Thanks to Kal Kassa for running Bitcoin Birr Community.I paid my hostel, bar, restaurant with #bitcoin and also got to meet Nemo who was working toward #btc mining called QR Labs. They have Best coffee & food in Africa is here in Ethiopia and here also the tribes are fighting for power. The Ja Rastafari movement started here too.
Country 22/40 - El Salvador
400 days journey had ended and i finally made it to the land of #bitcoin for Adopting Bitcoin Conference and got to meet all the believers of the eco system. Mike Peterson inspired a movement that led to #btc being a legal country. For once I was free to talk/use bitcoin FINALLY! Locals still prefer USD and are skeptical of #btc given the failure of FTX & Celsius that wrecked 2022. Lightning is the way forward. Even Mi Primer Bitcoin program started. Now we have couple of other circular economies in Berlin & the island. Please Do visit.
Country 23/40 - Senegal
Thanks to Nouru for inviting me for the 1st ever Dakar Bitcoin Days held in 2022. He is running @BtcpayServer and has 10 business accepting #btc in Dakar. There are blockchain folks around and he is fighting the good fight. Only time will tell though.
Country 24/40 - Ghana
Thanks to Farida for organising the 1st ever African Bitcoin Conference in Accra. Got to meet lot of bitcoiners from all around Africa & the world.
The conference was all signal & showed how Africa will grow with #bitcoin and vice versa. A #bitcoin community started called Bitcoin Cowries along with a surf shop now accepting #btc orange pilled by Herman, Jesse and others. We also visited bitcoin educational centre built with bitcoin in Kumasi. Ghana Cedi was also devalued by removing Four zeros.
Country 25/40-South Africa
Hosted meetups & used #btc in Johannesburg, Durban, Pretoria, Cape Town, Mossel Bay, White River
Got mugged on day 2 in Joburg & Steve rescued me & took me to his house. The community got me a new phone in 3 hours bought using
Bitrefill. Also Broke my GoPro in Durban & a humble bitcoiner got me a new one, thanks to Tricky for showing me around. He has orange pilled his whole family at $50K, #btc was trading at $16K in 2023 Jan. Kg,the founder of Machankura held a meetup in Pretoria & we used Azteco vouchers to buy #btc from everyday stores. Thats Cash to Bitcoin with 10% commission. Great #btc community in Cape Town, got to use btc at Pic n Pay markets via Crptoconverted app that accepts Lightning. Very good maxi community is around in this magical city. Then we drove to Mossel Bay, where Got to meet Herman & Luthando who run Bitcoin Ekasi, a #btc circular economy where all employees are paid in Sats and they use it multiple shops accepting bitcoin. This township is beautiful and they are hosting their first ever conference - Adopting Bitcoin Conference in January 2024. Also got to meet
Jane who hosted a meetup in White River too. As of now there are other #btc economies as Bitcoinubuntu & Bitcoinwitsand that have started along the garden route. One of the strongest currencies has lost value due to overprinting and corruption. Also got to meet Rand, One of the strongest currencies has lost value due to overprinting and corruption.
Country 26/40 - Brazil
Thanks to Fernando for inviting me to the Brazilian #bitcoin Carnival in Feb, 2023 -Jericoacoara where he started the 1st ever #btc circular economy
Called Praia Bitcoin. They are also the founders of Bitcoin POS Machines & 'Fruit for 10 sats' program in local school. Also Hosted 4 meetups in Porto Alegre, Florianópolis, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. They also host the annual #btc conferences called satsconf! 250 million people & adoption is growing!There two other #bitcoin circular economies that were inspired from Praia Bitcoin. They are called Montanah Bitcoin in Minas Gerais and Bitocoineaqui run in Rolante, South Brazil. They have various business accepting #btc but not many spenders!
Country 27/40 - Costa Rica
Nostrica conference was happening in March in Uvita & Dominical where Bitcoin Jungle,a #bitcoin circular economy is started by a group of expats like Govinda, Richard, Lee, Hans & Francis. They have a great team for #btc education too!Hosted 2 other meetups in San Jose & Santa Teressa where I learnt lot of Blockchain folks are pushing to make this crypto friendly country. Orosi,a small town near Capital is called the crypto city. There were various #bitcoin ATM around the country, yet no education so far.
Country 28/40 - Mexico
Thanks to Maciej, Traveled to 7 different cities,
in CDMX with Lorena
in Queretaro with Gustavo & Tristan
in San Miguel de Allende with Andrew
in Guadalajara with Chris
in Puerto Vallarta with Julio
in Puebla with Erick
in Merida with Amanda
in Tulum for Crypto fest
This is a cash rich country, Mexican Peso gained 20% in value to USD & has the likes of Ricardo Salinas backing #bitcoin through his Banco Azteca.
A new circular economy called Bitcoin Yucutan also has started in Sisal. Expats & locals are spreading the word of #bitcoin in this humongous country like Jimmy in Baja California & Dulce and many moe. As across USDT is preferred by P2P Traders too.
Country 29/30 - Miami, USA
Was invited to speak at the bitcoin conference by mcshane. It was a pleasant feeling meeting all the famous bitcoiners and spending sats to buy goodies/food was awesome. 2024 will be in Nashville. Ordinals to Presidential Candidate were there!
Country 29/30 - Cuba
Visited with Joe & got to meet the local #btc community run by Forte & Catrya. Over 70 folks came for the meetup and paid via lightning. Was surprised to find over 15 merchants accepting Bitcoin and Tether. Lot has changed, Cuban Pesos devalued from $1-25 CUP to $1-250CUP in 2 years, death of Fidel Castro has led to entrepreneurship on the island, where many small business exist now & almost everything is imported.
Basic wage of a Cuban is $12/month & are allowed to leave Cuba with a visa only! There are many more bitcoiners spread around the island like
Bitalion & Erich and some blockchain & Hive community also exist. Family receives remittances from abroad and the youth wants to escape the country, costing almost $10,000 as of now. Will #bitcoin help ?
Country 30/40 - Jamaica
Spent 10 days to realise the Carribean's are expensive and its cash preferred economy regularly visited by Cruise Ships. Hosted a #bitcoin meetup in Kingston with Edwards from Draper Startup house and learnt that kids lack basic mathematical skills. I did orange pill my hostel and a cafe on my visit. While eating Jerk Chicken, I learnt #bitcoin doesnt reach the poor and the rich don't care. Pizza please sell Pizza for discount for payments in #sats Jamaica has launched its own CBDC called Jamdex. Lets Hope for the best.
Country 31/40- Haiti
Only country where I couldn't use #bitcoin, nor orange pill anyone. I don't speak french. Shortest visit of only 5 days, I as I heard gun shorts and left the next morning. I visited Port au Prince & Cap Haitien. Why Haiti crippled ? From the 1791-1804 slave uprising to present day, Haiti has faced numerous challenges. They fought for independence, but were forced to pay 150 million francs to their former slave masters. This debt burden crippled their development, with up to 80% of their income going towards repayments. Haitians had to take loans from French Banks to pay back the French Debt. This is known as Double Debt. In the early 1900s, 7 presidents were killed or removed. Leading to US interference in 1915. US took control of institutions such as banks and national treasury .This increased debt payments to 40% of income, now to US and French Banks. Had Haiti not paid these debts, they would be $21 billion richer today. The US left in 1934, but not before exploiting them with forced labor and weakening the economy. In 1957, the Tonton Macoute, a paramilitary group, was formed to protect the president from any possible military coup. They later aided different administrations. In 1991, the president was ousted, causing chaos and mayhem and in 1994, the US intervened again with UN troops. Gangs continued operating under different political parties, and the 2010 earthquake further devastated the country. Over 300,000 people were killed. Another earthquake in 2021, coupled with the assassination of the president, has left Haiti vulnerable to over 200 gangs controlling vital resources near the capital of Port Au Prince, such as customs, fuel, electricity, water. International intervention is imminent. Haiti was the most lucrative country rich in Cafe,Cacao, Sugar, Gold,Copper,Natural Gas. All this misery just keeps out a common man from visiting this country. #bitcoin may be one of the answers to all this problems, only if their is a chance at peace & dialogue.
Country 32/40 - Dominican Republic
Hosted couple of #btc meetups in Santiago & Santo Domingo and met the crypto bros. Thanks to Instafinanza and Pedro for showing me around.
This is a crypto friendly island. Some anarchists have moved here due to relaxed immigration laws. Used #bitcoin for hostel, food, wing surfing, kite surfing, & day to day activities. There are #btc atms all around along with several OTC facilities. Its a preferred destination for many Canadian & Russians. One of my fav islands so far!
Country 33/40 - Puerto Rico
Alana, the producer of the dirty coin documentary hosted me in Las Palmas where we hosted a #bitcoin meetup, and another one was in San Juan during Crypto Mondays. Also got to meet dustin who is running a node since 2009!Lot of Bitcoiners here. Many Millionaires & Billionaires have shifted to Puerto Rico for 0% tax benefits, hence you will see silent adopters of crypto but none on the streets. I was only able to use #bitcoin at San Juan Smokehouse. There is Bitdevs community here too.
Country 34/40 - Trinidad & Tobago
Thanks to Arvin for hosting me in Port of Spain. They have the best food in the Caribbean! We hosted a #bitcoin meetup with Mark & other bitcoiners You can buy Pizza with #btc here too. We went for a morning run with the community in POS and also got to meet Rohan,a Jamaican bitcoiner in Tobago island. Here is where i failed in orange pilling my 65 yr old hostel owner who called me cynical and asked me to chill out and enjoy this beautiful paradise.
Country 35/40 - Suriname
Thanks Maya for inviting me over to see the initial stages of #bitcoin community in works. We hosted a meetup & shared sats with all and same was used in the restaurant for food & drinks. There was an Optic shop that preferred USDT over #btc Suriname just found Natural Gas & is 90% forest and has people primarily from Indonesia, China, Africa & India. There were couple of other restaurants accepting #btc Thanks to Gabriel & Rick.
Now there is Bitcoin Sranan community which runs fruits for 10 sats program!
Country 36/40 - Panama
Majestic Panama Canal is a human marvel and major source of this dollarized country. Parliament had voted in favour of #bitcoin as a legal tender but the President Vetoed it out. Its a tax haven for many expats and the community is strong here. We hosted a #bitcoin meetup with Enrique & Aldo in Panama City where Tower Bank also helps in on Ramp & off ramp. I Paid my hostel with #btc too. Traveled to Santa Catalina & paid my guide in sats & in Boquete met Adrian who has orange pilled cafes&restaurants.
Country 37/40 - Nicaragua
Its surfers paradise and beautiful country to travel but really difficult to live in with no money. It's cheap but you can feel similar vibes like in Cuba, where the people look for opportunities abroad. The Ortegas run Nicaragua since 2007. Traveled to San Juan del Sur, paid for lunch with #btc
at Surf Ranch, then to Omotepe where I was invited to stay at Lightning friendly place, followed by Granada & then Managua. We hosted a meetup here with Alejandro who runs a local blockchain community. Its not very public. I also got a power bank, paid with Lightning in Managua too. Then I head to Lyon where Lenon runs a KPOP & Ramen shop accepting #btc I highly doubt Nicaragua will adopt #Bitcoingiven its political situation. HRFrecently funded Educational program run by Berta.
Country 38/40 - Honduras
Thanks Juan for hosting a #bitcoin meetup in Tegucigalpa and for running 5 bitcoin Atm's around Honduras. We got haircut, electronics for #BTC
in Tegucigalpa. I shared some sats with my host too & then made my way to Roatan island. In Roatan, there is free city called Prospera Global
whose legal tender is #bitcoin and also has amazing Bitcoin Educational initiatives run by Dusan, Gabriel, Zussel, Ariana. ITs called Amity Age. They have orange pilled over 100 business and teach schools. They also run #bitcoin tours where you get to experience the Carribean, all paid in #bitcoin
Amity Age runs mining operations in Paraguay and then use the profits to orange pill this island in Honduras. Most of the business HODL their sats!
Self sustainable economy!
Country 38/40 - USA
Visited TABCONF in Atlanta & met many developers This conference is GOAT & find the #bitcoin hunt is amazing. Thanks
Tidwell. Then attended Global Bitcoin Summit organised by HRF, met 100+ plebs from 54 countries. Thanks Arsh,Alex,ALex & CK
Country 39/40 - Peru
Visited here with Joe to document bitcoin adoption done by Motiv n Global run by Vali & Richard. Unbelievable to see how #btc helps townships in Lima, Tarapoto & Cusco regions from Jungles to Mountains. Great work done by Orange Pill Peru community. If this was the vision of Satoshi, then this project is the proof that #bitcoin is for everyone!Over 15 circular economies using bitcoin, as all are unbanked. We bought food to stay to Machu Picchu to gifts to massage all was paid using Lightning on blink wallet. This is the best project so far!
Country 39/40 - India,Indonesia,Japan
Spoke at 2nd Bitcoin Conf by Bitcoin4India. Thanks Anant & Abhilash for organising
Spoke at 1st Indonesia Conf. Thanks Dea for organising
Spoke at #Nostrasia in Tokyo,Japan.Thanks jack (npub1sg6…f63m) for hosting.
Country 40/40 - Guatemala
My last country & 4 #bitcoin economies here. I used Osmo Wallet during the 2 week journey. There is
El Barrio Bitcoin in Guatemala City
Antigua Bitcoin in Antigua
Lake Bitcoin in Panajachel
Bitcoin Lake in San Marcos
Paid for food, stay, hike all with #bitcoin in Guatemala. A community was started here in 2014 and all of them started their own business. Guatemalan Quetzal is the strongest currency in Central America. It has been stable for decades. Then Central Bank & the Govt are 2 diff entities. I was glad to meet Rishi who was an Eth believer and is now teaching #bitcoin to expat community in San Marcos. The economy in Panajachel is just across the lake is run by Eliziar where over 60 business accept #btc and there is an ATM too. This is ground up approach that was inspired from El Salvador's Bitcoin Beach project.I was 100% on #bitcoin during my stay there. Blessings!
Country 41/40 - Curacao
Thanks Peter Kroll for inviting me for finale of the journey. Peter is the founder of Paper Wallet, that I used in the start of Run with Bitcoin and here I was ending too. Over 50 business accept #btc here. Peter is focussed on education here.I paid for my flights, hotel, taxi, food, tourism, sim card, gifts all using #bitcoin Lightning. There are billboards shilling bitcoin around the island. We went around and orange pilled couple of restaurants too. The community is bitcoin maxi and some use USDT for P2P trades too.
Gratitude Post
Thanks to Bitrefill for supporting this journey. They were the pillar!
I used #bitcoin to buy services in 40 countries for Phone Refills, Uber, Esim, amazon vouchers, flights, hotels/airbnb, vpn, clothes/shoes, fuel, decathlon, supermarkets, games!
Thanks to Mahin Gupta for supporting the 1st year of the journey and connecting me to Suril Desai who has been a dear friend from start till the end.
Thanks Paxful, Foundation Devices for supporting my African leg of the journey.
I initially started by crowdfund page with btcpayserver (npub1nfe…4gf7) as a class A citizen running a #bitcoin node on Luna Node and managing the liquidity was an adventure. For the 2nd leg, I shifted to @geyserfund and was getting Lightning sats directly to my @walletofsatoshi for 2% fee.
Last 7 months of the trip was supported by Bitcoin4india. They have been educating Indians about #btc for the past 2 years and have hosted 2 Conferences in Goa & Bengaluru.I was in need & Anant & Abhilash came through to support a fellow bitcoiner :)
Special thanks to Mike Peterson for supporting the last 7 months of journey too. Having met Mike in 5 different countries, & having the same vision got us connected! #bitcoin circular economy is the goal. If you are willing to start such an economy, Mike will advise you.
TRUTH TIME-
Over 500 contributions were received on @BtcpayServer & @geyserfund in last 812 days from bitcoiners all around the world. Support with love goes a long way. This tells you everyone who has #bitcoin is equal & powerful.
Blessings & Power to y'all!
Hugs
Is #bitcoin really for everyone?
I don't think so.
Will bitcoin save the World?
Yes, it can.
Will common man use bitcoin?
Not for next 20 years.
What is needed for bitcoin adoption?
Education in regional language is must, not just making noise on Social Media.
DM for more