• Bitcoin Lake is a non-profit project located in Panajachel, Guatemala that seeks to create a circular economy powered by Bitcoin.
• Through initiatives such as the Bitcoin tuk tuk and the Bitcoin boat, they have successfully onboarded more than 60 merchants and educated students on the concept of money and the potential benefits of Bitcoin.
• The project has also seen significant growth with 4,674 transactions made in 2022 and a volume of 7.39 BTC.
Bitcoin Lake: A Novel Solution for Unbanked Merchants
Bitcoin Lake is a non-profit project located in Panajachel, Guatemala that seeks to create a circular economy powered by Bitcoin. Through initiatives such as the Bitcoin tuk tuk (see figure one below) and the Bitcoin boat (cleverly named “Peer To Peer”), they have successfully onboarded more than 60 merchants and educated students on the concept of money and the potential benefits of Bitcoin.
Impact On Local Community
In Guatemala, approximately 60% of the adult population doesn’t have access to formal financial services, making it difficult for them to engage in digital commerce or receive payments from abroad. By providing an accessible solution for unbanked merchants, this initiative has had a significant impact on the local community. In addition to onboarding more than 60 merchants (90% being unbanked), they’ve also held successful education projects at Centro Educativo Josué – Guatemala’s first school to receive the “Mi Primer Bitcoin” course – where kids can gain an understanding of bitcoin.
Significant Growth
Since launching just over a year ago, Bitcoin Lake has seen significant growth with 4,674 transactions made in 2022 with a volume of 7.39 BTC (see figures two, three and four). This demonstrates that their efforts are having an impact on not only their local community but also on those who wish to engage globally via cryptocurrency technology.
Volunteering With Bitcoin Lake
During my first month volunteering with Bitcoin Lake, my understanding and dedication to bitcoin has grown significantly. As one of my first tasks I collected data to assess progress made within one year which showed impressive results (see figures two through four). Additionally, I started teaching “Mi Primer Bitcoin” courses at a local school which was extremely rewarding as I could witness students grasping concepts related to money and potential benefits offered by bitcoin technology firsthand.
First Meetup Success
In January we held our first meetup with 10 attendees which proved successful due to various engaging activities undertaken during it including educational games about blockchain & cryptocurrency technology as well as discussions regarding how best utilize these new technologies in order achieve greater financial inclusion.