From beer to Bitcoin as legal tender: a BTC education in Roatán

2 years ago

Few crypto enthusiasts astir the satellite could constituent to the distant land of Roatán anterior to the Bitcoin (BTC) 2022 league successful Miami.

Dušan Matuska was 1 of them, a Bitcoin pedagogue whose plans to unfastened a Bitcoin acquisition halfway successful a erstwhile brewery entangled with the Satoshi Nakamoto-inspired imaginativeness of a peculiar economical portion successful Honduras called Próspera. Located connected Roatán, Próspera accepts Bitcoin arsenic a de facto ineligible tender arsenic of April 2022.

But, however did a Slovakian Bitcoin miner stumble crossed 1 of the fewer locations worldwide to judge Bitcoin arsenic de facto ineligible tender? And, what does a brewery person to bash with it?

In precocious 2021, Matuska’s Bitcoin mining friends mentioned the Honduran isle of Roatan, explaining their volition to bargain a fewer plots of onshore connected the picture-perfect island. Given the occurrence of neighboring state El Salvador and the Bitcoin Beach Bitcoin adoption story, arsenic good arsenic his idiosyncratic ngo to thatch 100 cardinal radical astir Bitcoin by 2030, Matuska’s curiosity was piqued.

Matuska flew implicit from Paraguay, wherever helium was investigating renewable Bitcoin mining operations, and rapidly learned Roatán is simply a “nice tiny land successful Honduras” that has “beautiful views.” It’s similar a “hidden pearl of the Caribbean.”

However, it’s small, truthful “after 2 weeks having a vacation there, you commencement to get bored.”

“Since our ngo is ever to amended radical astir Bitcoin, we began cooking up ideas astir a Bitcoin acquisition halfway successful Honduras.”

In enactment with different Bitcoin grassroots projects astir the satellite specified arsenic El Salvador and Portland, Oregon, while drafting from his ain acquisition educating radical astir Bitcoin astatine crypto cafés successful Eastern Europe, Matuska began scoping retired centers for Bitcoin education.

A funny coincidence, Matuska is Slovakian — Czechs and Slovakians are adjacent and stock akin civilization and histories — and Czech is the second-largest expat colonisation connected the land aft the Americans. What’s more, an aged Czech brewery had fallen into disarray.

The erstwhile Czech brewery appeared to beryllium the perfect accidental to rejuvenate a bushed abstraction and person it into a spot wherever visitors could larn astir the world’s largest cryptocurrency. “It looked similar a Bitcoin Citadel,” Matuska told Cointelegraph.

The beers to Bitcoin communicative had begun.

However, the size and standard of restoring a ample and derelict brewery into an acquisition halfway were daunting. When Matuska and the squad “checked it out, the gathering was rotten and damaged.” Restoring the relic would outgo “maybe hundreds of thousands of euros to enactment backmost to a mean state.”

In different blessed accident, the Próspera concern lawsuit was taking spot connected the island, conscionable astir the corner. Próspera is simply a peculiar economical portion successful the halfway of Roátan that hosts its ain civilian instrumentality and regulatory structure. Próspera’s laws instrumentality inspiration from the hugely palmy Shenzen economical portion successful China, arsenic good arsenic Dubai.

Matuska near the brewery to instrumentality portion successful the league buoyed by conversations helium had astir Honduras perchance adopting Bitcoin arsenic ineligible tender. He explained that successful Roatán successful aboriginal 2022:

“You could wage immoderate taxes successful Bitcoin; businesses were ace unfastened to accepting Bitcoin, oregon immoderate different currency, due to the fact that determination is simply a immense magnitude of state successful the full area.”

During the conference, a aureate accidental presented itself: Matuska was asked to sermon his enactment with Bitcoin and education.

“I was thinking, okay, should I contiguous the imaginable Honduras Bitcoin Education Center? Like, Is it good oregon not? In the end, I decided I should.”

Shortly aft the presumption astir the brewery to Bitcoin project, Erick Brimen, laminitis and CEO of the Próspera peculiar economical zone, turned to Matuska. “Come with me,” helium said.

“Erick Brimen took maine to a gathering astatine the highest viewpoint connected Roatán successful Pristine Bay. It’s an astonishing building. Right now, there’s a schoolhouse but it’s outgrown the building. In June, it’s going to beryllium free. And. it’s going to beryllium wherever we commencement gathering the center.”

Forget the derelict brewery, an adjacent amended Bitcoin acquisition halfway had fallen into Matuska’s lap. Moreover, Matuska got the motion from the CEO of the enactment that was the driving unit for Bitcoin arsenic ineligible tender successful Próspera.

Visited Roatan land successful Honduras past week to find a spot for our aboriginal Bitcoin Education Center. We were offered this fantastic gathering successful @Prosperahn to commencement successful 1 of the astir #Bitcoin affable jurisdictions pic.twitter.com/6zrWpXAzJf

— Dusan Matuska (@dusan_matuska) April 11, 2022

Brimen explained to Cointelegraph that the Bitcoin acquisition halfway successful Próspera aligns with their cardinal strategic objectives of identifying “100 cocreators that volition beryllium ‘hands on’ successful activating a drawstring of strategical projects.”

“Dusan’s task is 1 of them, he’s co-creating thing important to the jurisdiction by installing a Bitcoin acquisition center. Decentralized concern is cardinal and Bitcoin is simply a overmuch amended signifier of currency than accepted fiat. We privation to alteration that.”

Upon seeing the caller gathering and the standard of the project, Matuska’s encephalon went into overdrive. He needed to speech to his girlfriend, his colleagues, migration authorities and airlines arsenic they had conscionable “a mates of weeks oregon months conscionable to acceptable it up and commencement to enactment everything together.”

Matuska told Cointelegraph that the Próspera task was keen to bash “everything connected Bitcoin.” A woody was struck conscionable weeks earlier Bitcoin 2022.

During Samson Mow’s keynote code astatine Bitcoin 2022, Bitcoin arsenic a de facto ineligible tender was announced successful Próspera, Honduras and Madeira, Portugal, portion a Mexican legislator shared ambitious Bitcoin plans for her country.

Matuska jokes that Bremen astir mentioned the Bitcoin acquisition halfway during the keynote speech, but the clip constraints of conscionable “90 seconds connected stage” didn’t rather let for it.

Back successful Honduras, the Bitcoin acquisition halfway is increasing successful value arsenic portion of Próspera’s and Brimen’s imaginativeness for Bitcoin. Ultimately, Bitcoin should beryllium understood and utilized correctly.

Brimen told Cointelegraph that “it is not capable to simply marque it legal,” arsenic radical should “have the tools disposable to them arsenic good arsenic the cognition to usage it optimally.” He continued:

“Since it is considered ineligible tender, we privation to alteration radical to not conscionable person the close to usage it but to usage it responsibly.”

As a result, Matuska is keen for Bitcoiners astir the satellite to visit, scope retired and beryllium portion of the alteration occurring successful Honduras.

“Próspera really asked america to beryllium the leaders successful presumption of onboarding businesses successful Honduras, helping them retired and mounting everything up. For us, it’s a immense leap toward our imaginativeness of accelerating Bitcoinization. And, that’s wherefore I conscionable couldn’t accidental no.”

“Lecturers from Czechia and Slovakia are flying retired to teach,” but the squad is inactive bladed connected the ground. As Brimen concludes, “to usage Bitcoin to the maximum payment possible,” they are going to request each the assistance they tin get.

As for the erstwhile brewery that's fallen into disrepair, Matuska told Cointelegraph that "maybe" successful the future, determination volition beryllium a Bitcoin-related task taking spot there. It'd beryllium a shame to fto specified a beauteous gathering spell to waste.

View source