First-time poster here and quite new btc and the concept of lightning payments for a circular economy. I’m currently based in the Caribbean, where Bitcoin adoption is still in its infancy. I’ve heard about projects like Bitcoin Beach and Bitcoin Jungle, and it makes me excited about the potential that can be had from btc and lightning. Curacao also is pretty open to btc in the Caribbean, which is encouraging.
Our region deals with high banking fees and fragmented payment systems between islands. It feels like a prime candidate for a circular economy, but we lack the merchant density.
My questions for the stackers:
For those who have traveled to "Bitcoin hubs" (El Salvador, Lugano, South Africa), how were your experiences? Did they exceed expectations or were they just ok?
Which region/country do you think is "sleeping" on Bitcoin adoption right now?
If you were starting a circular economy on a Caribbean island, where would you start: the tourism sector, small street vendors or local grocery/utility payments? Some Caribbean countries (Barbados, Guyana) are implementing digital payment systems soon. Perhaps this may be the gateway to a btc circular economy?
My best advice is to step away from the obsession about it having to be circular.
No economy is truly circular. Not even fiat ones. Any economy will exchange goods with other ones who require payment in a different currency than the one you hold.
All you can do is try to encourage the use and spread of bitcoin as MoE. That starts by having people understand how good it is as SoV even if that feels like a bumpy ride for our fiat-addled brains.
I personally do that by preferably spending at merchants who accept bitcoin. I also ask staff if they would like to receive their tip in bitcoin.
More often than not it's more about normalizing that option than people actually accepting it even in places like South Africa.
So, start where you can and care about merchants and people. Don't recommend it just because you like bitcoin. Do it because it helps them. And know how it does. And be honest with yourself. If it doesn't help someone, there's no point in pestering them to join your side.
Points very much noted. Thank you for your response.
Since sats cannot be printed, you need to acquire sats into your economy. You can do this in 2 ways:
What I've personally felt Caribbean locals (not tourists) sensitive to: savings. So if you have sats and they have cash, and you need some cash for groc or to go to the rum shop in lieu of them accepting sats, trade p2p. This creates some backpressure, but not a lot, because your friends will hodl.
I think that the #1 thing to do is to surround yourself with entrepreneurs. Discuss their friction with them. Many, especially the young, will tell you they experience banking friction (due to the correspondence banking squeeze business and poor local services) and I've found they're open, but worried on the liabilities side. Services may have less friction than goods, to start, but do remember that regulation - especially within Caricom - leans towards copying MiCA, so exchanging is an ever-growing issue too, especially because it reintroduces the same banking friction, KYC traps, and so on.
The informal economy is the best economy to start with, and there is plenty of that.
As you and others have noted, grassroots/informal economy would gain more traction. I agree with that. Thank you for your response.
As a traveler it'd be cool to be able to pay for street food, transportation and excursions with Bitcoin but if fiat rails work I'd probably still use them, mainly because I'm not comfortable showing up and saying hey I have hard pseudonymous digital currency.
My advice is to make as much money as you can. Then buy Bitcoin to hold as part of your savings and investments. If you're good there then help others achieve the same.
In my estimation a circular economy will only form after some kind of financial apocalypse where fiat loses all utility and governments are way less powerful than they are today. In other words it might be a while.
" My advice is to make as much money as you can. Then buy Bitcoin to hold as part of your savings and investments. If you're good there then help others achieve the same."
Thanks for this advice. It's in my plans to do just that. DCA my way to freedom and help others where I can.
More btc adoption is of great benefit in places where banks and other 3rd parties make it extremely expensive to move money. We'll see what happens in a few years. Cheers.
There a quite a few trip reports (New Zealand, El Salvador, Lugano, South Africa) in the
related postssection of your post here: #1466080Thank you. I will take a look!
I saw this, and it could be useful: #1457181
I will look into this some more. I think this used was as a great resource to help when hurricane Melissa hit Jamaica- that was the first time I heard about Flash. I myself wasn't even into btc yet at that point. I'll give it a try. Do you use it? Thanks for your response.
Hi everyong 👋
I am just interested about this topic,
If any French people reading this 🇫🇷, would be cool to connect.
Si y'a des français interéssés par ce sujet - développer/éduquer/démystifier les paiements en btc - n'hésitez pas à me contacter.
Welcome to SN. Your instinct about the Caribbean is right, but the real opening isn't the one most people think about.
The correspondent banking crisis is the thing to watch. Since 2015, major US banks have been "de-risking" -- dropping correspondent banking relationships with Caribbean financial institutions because the compliance costs outweigh the revenue. The Eastern Caribbean Currency Union lost something like 30% of its correspondent banking relationships in under a decade. That means local banks literally can't move dollars efficiently anymore, which is why transfer fees between islands are so brutal.
That's your actual wedge for Lightning. Not competing with Visa at the point of sale (you'll lose that fight on UX for years), but replacing the broken correspondent banking rails for inter-island settlement. A merchant in Trinidad who buys inventory from a supplier in Barbados is currently paying 3-5% in FX and transfer fees on every transaction. Lightning makes that instant and nearly free.
For the circular economy question specifically: start with the tourism sector, but not how you'd expect. Don't try to get hotels to accept Bitcoin. Instead, target the informal economy that serves tourists -- taxi drivers, tour guides, beach vendors, market stalls. These folks are often unbanked or underbanked, they deal in cash already, and they interact with thousands of tourists per year. One beach vendor in Negril accepting Lightning and telling every tourist about it is worth more than a hotel chain putting a Bitcoin logo on their website.
Jamaica's remittance corridor is the other big one. Remittances were about 18% of GDP last I checked, and the average fee through Western Union or MoneyGram is still around 6-8% for small amounts. A $200 monthly remittance losing $12-16 per month to fees adds up fast. That's the pitch that actually lands with regular people -- not "sound money" philosophy, just "keep more of what your family sends you."
Bitcoin Beach in El Salvador worked because they picked a single community (El Zonte, population ~3,000) and saturated it. Trying to go island-wide from day one is the mistake everyone makes. Pick one town, one beach strip, one market. Get 20 merchants in a row accepting Lightning. That density is what creates the flywheel.