ETH Salvador 2024 Showcases General Blockchain Adoption In El Salvador
The first Ethereum-based event to take place in El Salvador happened this weekend at the Florentino Idaote Library in the nation's capital city, San Salvador. As one would expect, there was some resistance to Ethereum projects presenting in Bitcoin country, but the event was approved nevertheless.
El Salvador was the first nation to make Bitcoin legal tender back in 2021. A couple of years later, they passed the digital assets law, which opened up the possibility of other cryptocurrencies being considered legal in the country.
With a higher than expected turnout, there was a large crowd of university students, developers, lawyers and technical people from all parts of the world in attendance. The day long event included presentations, workshops, free lunch, and networking related to Ethereum and its ecosystem.
Presentations
There were presentations given (in Spanish) on a variety of topics including the basics of Ethereum, the new digital asset law in El Salvador, and how other cryptocurrencies can co-exist with Bitcoin in the country.
Attendees were given a chance to ask questions at the end of each presentation, and interact with the presenters one-to-one afterwards. Almost every seat on the floor was occupied, to the point where many people had to participate by standing on the side.
Information Booths
In addition to the presentations, there were information booths on the upper floor representing projects in the Ethereum ecosystem such as Arbitrum, Starknet, and Intmax.
While some attendees were busying doing research, others hacked away with headphones on. The more social ones were participating in the chats and discussions related to each project.
I'm happy to report that several attendees were also aware of the HIVE blockchain (especially those from Venezuela), and the crypto-related articles that get posted here.
Networking
In attendance people from Nicaragua, the United States, Venezuela, Europe, Mexico, and more. Noticebly, quite a few Venezuelans had migrated to El Salvador, mainly due to the increased security and the Bitcoin law.
Some Bitcoin-only people joked that they were worried about getting in trouble for being in attendance. I think it demonstrates how maximalism isn't sustainable, and eventually people give into their curiosities about what other blockchains are capable of.
Attendees left the event more educated about Bitcoin, Ethereum, and the laws surrounding digital assets in El Salvador.
ETH Salvador 2024 will be followed by Eth Latam in Honduras, which will take place in San Pedro Sula from March 13th to the 14th.
Conclusion
If you enjoyed this article, be sure to check out my other posts on finance and crypto here on the HIVE blockchain. You can also follow me on InLeo for more frequent updates.
Until next time...
I reckon HIVE would be an excellent fit for El Salvador. The BTC price is getting to a level where it's great as a store of value, savings plan and government asset, but that very volatility is a disincentive to using it as a currency for day-to-day transactions.
HBD has the advantage that it's denominated in dollars, which will be a familiar value scale for Salvdoreans, and with no fees when you exchange/spend them, it's ideal for small businesses wanting to offer their customers a way to pay.
If the dollar wasn't already officially legal tender in El Salvador I'm sure a lot of citizens would be using stablecoins to escape the local currency.
El Salvador is already ahead of the game by having the dollar as the official currency, and Bitcoin to replace it when USD inflation gets out of hand.