This article is part of a four-piece series on El Salvador. You can find the previous dispatch, a story on El Zonte, here.
The energy at this year’s Plan B conference in El Salvador was palpable.
The event, which took place on January 30-31, was groundbreaking for many of the 2,500 attendees. It marked the first Bitcoin forum in the Central American country to offer a fully bilingual agenda—featuring sessions in both English and Spanish.
For Roman Martínez, a Salvadoran co-founder of Bitcoin Beach, Plan B represented a long-held aspiration, as it allowed local Salvadorans to grasp their nation’s Bitcoin initiative and reflect on their own roles within it. “Until now, every Bitcoin conference was aimed at foreigners,” he shared with me in Spanish on the first day. “Not everyone speaks English. Learning a complex subject is already challenging in one’s own language; it becomes three times harder in another.”
Martínez played a key role in organizing the event. Initially, he anticipated that around 100 to 150 Salvadorans would attend, but over 1,500 tickets were sold to Spanish speakers. “I’ve never encountered so many Salvadoran faces at a Bitcoin conference,” he remarked. “We’re reaching a point where Salvadorans recognize that Bitcoin is here to stay, and we must engage with it now, or risk being left behind.”
I sensed that urgency as well.
The English-speaking section, hosted at the Sheraton Presidente San Salvador Hotel, featured crypto luminaries including Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino, alongside veterans like Samson Mow, Jimmy Song, Blockstream CEO Adam Back, and early Bitcoin developer Peter Todd. “We are witnessing a battle between centralized and decentralized systems!” exclaimed Walker America, the host of THE Bitcoin Podcast, at the conference’s opening panel.
However, this part of the conference felt somewhat predictable when compared to the Spanish-speaking zone held at the Museum of Arts of El Salvador, which pulsed with excitement. There, Salvadorans from diverse backgrounds discussed strategies to enhance their nation—from creating new educational opportunities to incorporating Bitcoin into dental care, and analyzing the government’s dealings with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Many panelists were young Salvadorans, full of passion.
“We are in the right place at the right time in history,” stated Gerardo Linares, co-founder of Bitcoin Berlín (the initiative driving the country’s second Bitcoin circular economy), addressing a captivated audience. “It’s all happening right here, in El Salvador.”
A conference for Salvadorans
I was amazed by the demographic composition in the Spanish area. Typically, crypto conferences lean heavily male; attendees often express frustration over the overwhelming presence of men. The English-speaking area followed that trend—around 90% male to 10% female.
In contrast, the Spanish section was far more balanced, with an estimated distribution of about 60% men and 40% women. While many attendees wore black and orange Bitcoin T-shirts, you could also spot middle-aged Salvadoran couples dressed in traditional attire and university students in turtlenecks with notepads.
I asked Evelyn Lemus and Patricia Rosales, who are among the Salvadorans leading the Bitcoin initiative in Berlín, for their thoughts on the rate of female participation. They seemed unfazed by the numbers. “A new generation of Salvadoran women is emerging who no longer rely on men,” Rosales, a single mother herself, remarked.
“In El Salvador, it’s often women who handle family finances,” Lemus explained. “That’s why they attend events like this—to learn how to manage and invest family resources. This was a key reason for organizing the conference in Spanish.”
Lemus emphasized that Bitcoin should not be an exclusive privilege for the elite but rather a tool to simplify life for everyday Salvadorans. This concern shaped her vision for Bitcoin Berlín. “We aimed to counter the perception that Salvadorans don’t engage with Bitcoin—that it’s solely for expats. Now, if you visit Berlín, you’ll witness working-class individuals utilizing Bitcoin.”
Making sense of El Salvador’s situation
Overall, there was a prevailing sense that El Salvador stands on the verge of entering a new chapter in its Bitcoin journey.
Over the last four years, the Central American nation—once infamous for its high homicide rates—has rebranded itself as Bitcoin Country. President Nayib Bukele, by taking strong measures against gangs like MS-13 and Barrio 18, has provided El Salvador with a unique chance for reorganization and prosperity, as most attendees at the conference seemed to agree.
Many discussions focused on the increasing adoption of Bitcoin. Even after Bitcoin was declared legal tender in 2021, for years citizens could only utilize the cryptocurrency in El Zonte, a small surfing community also known as Bitcoin Beach. In 2023, a survey conducted by the Central American University revealed that 88% of Salvadorans had not adopted the digital currency.
However, a second Bitcoin circular economy has now been established in the town of Berlín, situated in the mountains, with other initiatives reportedly springing up elsewhere, including in Santa Ana, the second-largest city in the nation.
Martínez, Lemus, and Linares were keen to share insights and recommendations. They suggested that the key to increased adoption is integrating Bitcoin initiatives with social endeavors. “If the way to encourage Bitcoin usage was through selling hamburgers instead of engaging in social work, I would be selling hamburgers,” Linares mentioned. “Whatever gets results. People enjoy social initiatives, which is why we’re prioritizing that.”
Tether’s decision to move its headquarters to El Salvador has also been viewed as a major triumph. The stablecoin giant disclosed $143.7 billion in assets, including $94.5 billion in Treasury bills, during the last financial quarter of 2024. For context, El Salvador’s GDP was estimated at $34 billion in 2023 by the World Bank.
With Tether emerging as the largest company by far to establish itself in El Salvador, other crypto firms are likely to follow suit, attracted by the country’s progressive crypto regulatory framework and an increasingly skilled workforce. This shift represents more job opportunities, higher wages, and the potential for El Salvador to carve out its own identity as a technology hub.
“El Salvador should not only be recognized for being the first nation to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender,” Darvin Otero, CEO of tiianki Technology, remarked on stage. “Let’s enhance the lives of our youth and cultivate the next leaders of this technological movement.”
“We may have a small territory, but we can harbor big dreams,” stated Alejandro Muñoz, a Salvadoran lawyer. “We can offer significant services. … Competent legal professionals will draw in quality investors and weed out the scammers. Education about Bitcoin must penetrate the legal sector; progress is already being made in that regard.”
Bright future ahead
Just days before the conference, the government, as part of a new multi-billion-dollar agreement with the IMF, revoked Bitcoin’s status as legal tender—relieving businesses of the obligation to accept Bitcoin payments. Although some Bitcoin community members accused Bukele of conceding to the IMF’s demands, no one at Plan B interpreted it that way. From their perspective, the practical implications had not changed, as most businesses had not utilized Bitcoin initially.
In fact, many expressed support for the deal. “El Salvador secured long-term financing to complete the necessary reforms,” Mike Peterson, an American expatriate residing in El Zonte who co-founded Bitcoin Beach, shared on X recently. “The IMF loan positions the country to achieve the BBB credit rating that most sovereign wealth funds require for investment.”
This distinction highlights the difference in outlook between Salvadorans and Bitcoin enthusiasts. Dedicated Bitcoin proponents prioritize global acceptance; they envision cryptocurrency eventually replacing fiat currencies such as the U.S. dollar. For them, El Salvador serves as a stepping stone—the inaugural nation in the push for hyperbitcoinization, but certainly not the last.
Conversely, for Salvadorans, Bitcoin is a practical instrument, a means to an aspirational goal: the advancement of Salvadoran society.
“Salvadorans have historically taken pride in being Salvadoran, though there has been much pessimism over time. We were never the first to achieve anything positive, only the first in negative aspects,” Linares noted. “Now, people from all corners of the globe are coming to hear our stories. Bitcoin has played a significant role in that.”
“Numerous projects in El Salvador invest substantial time and resources with minimal returns—aside from the immense pride in contributing to the community and uplifting others. This sentiment should permeate the entire country. We’re at a pivotal moment of transformation. It’s palpable in the atmosphere.”
