Bitcoin payments fade at El Salvador’s Bitcoin Beach

Bitcoin Core contributor Jon Atack visited a restaurant in El Zonte, El Salvador, on August 23 and recorded the first Bitcoin payment of the month when he paid for lunch. The merchant reported only a single Bitcoin transaction for the entire month.

Anecdotal evidence aligns with broader surveys

Atack described the encounter as anecdotal and not representative of national payment activity. Nevertheless, university polls show a continued decline in Bitcoin usage among Salvadorans. A Universidad Centroamericana survey found that 8.1% of respondents used Bitcoin for purchases in 2024, down from 25.7% in 2021. A separate Universidad Francisco Gavidia poll reported that 92% of respondents did not use Bitcoin for transactions in 2024.

Voluntary acceptance after IMF reforms

El Salvador’s original Bitcoin law required businesses with the necessary technology to accept the cryptocurrency. Following a 40‑month, $1.4 billion IMF Extended Fund Facility agreement in February 2025, the government revised the law, making private‑sector acceptance voluntary and requiring taxes to be paid in U.S. dollars. The IMF program also removed the government’s guarantee of Bitcoin‑to‑dollar conversions, allowing merchants to discontinue Bitcoin acceptance when demand is low.

Government reserves remain separate from retail use

Publicly tracked government Bitcoin holdings have shown apparent increases, but IMF documentation indicates that total government‑controlled holdings have remained unchanged since the IMF agreement. Reported wallet movements likely reflect internal transfers rather than new purchases by residents.

Implications and outlook

The restaurant’s single Bitcoin transaction supports existing evidence of weaker payment adoption, but it does not prove a nationwide disappearance of Bitcoin payments. Future assessments will depend on updated merchant data, new usage surveys, and the progress of the Chivo wallet divestment.