The Central American country of Guatemala is becoming more accepting of Bitcoin traders.
Bitcoin usage in Guatemala is on the rise. The Latin American country that borders El Salvador is home to Guatemalan Bitcoin companies such as Ibex and Osmo, several projects inspired by Bitcoin Beach such as Bitcoin Lake, and his BTC tattoo, which is now free.
His 2022 Bitcoin Merchant Recruitment Contest, hosted by Osmo Wallet, a Guatemala-based Bitcoin company, has led to a free promotion for the ink. Cointelegraph spoke with Piero Cohen, co-founder of Osmo Wallet, and Steven Marroquin, owner of Guatemala City tattoo parlor Souls Anchor.
Coen highlighted how the goal is to increase the adoption of Bitcoin:
“So we ran a competition amongst merchants to see who would process the most volume in Bitcoin sales in 2022. It turns out that the tournament was won by Soul’s Anchor Tattoo Shop in Guatemala City, which began accepting Bitcoin payments through Osmobusiness back in October.
In Guatemala, merchant adoption is nothing new. They, therefore, considered how to add more intrigue to the situation. They concluded that a Bitcoin-friendly marketing strategy may involve giving away free Bitcoin tattoos to customers. It was a big success. The spots all filled up within hours! He clarified.
🫵You can bid on a full day #tattoo or #piercing session from the Phoenix Rising Tattoo team!
— TattooMoney (@infoTattoomoney) January 25, 2023
💟We invite you to actively participate! The entire amount will contribute to the account of WOŚP foundation!
Link 👉https://t.co/YrCtU8dfwS#wosp2023 pic.twitter.com/ql6b5MatzJ
Bitcoin enthusiasts and visitors from Guatemala flocked to the shop to get tattoos of their favourite Bitcoin memes, sayings, or artwork. “It’s been around seven months since we officially accepted Bitcoin,” said Steven Marroquin, owner of Souls Anchor, “and we have two to three consumers every month.” Although it’s a little sum, he notes that payments are increasing:
“The first months we had only one customer, and even though it’s still a few percentages of our income, probably 1%, we are happy to have started accepting it.”
Cohen said that Guatemala is “very early” to adopt bitcoin, adding that “most business owners are still nervous about accepting and holding bitcoin due to high volatility. ‘ said.
By instantly converting bitcoin to fiat currency at the payment merchant’s terminal, merchants avoid volatility. Instant BTC to fiat conversion is a rising trend in the Bitcoin payments arena, with companies such as Jack Mallers-led Strike and his CoinCorner offering similar solutions. Bitcoin as a medium of exchange is booming and Cohen is optimistic about the future.
“Bitcoin adoption in Guatemala City is on the rise, every day we see more and more people getting into it, learning about it, and stacking up on Sats.”
Rikki, one-half of the Bitcoin Explorers couple who lived in El Salvador for 45 days solely on Bitcoin, recently travelled across Guatemala, paying for everything with the digital currency. Regarding himself and his partner Laura, Rikki told Cointelegraph that the amount of “acceptance of Bitcoin in Guatemala has truly astonished us.”
“Locals are curious, they want to learn about Bitcoin and see it as an important alternative to credit cards whose fees are very high in the country.”
When opposed to accepting credit card payments, businesses may save over 50% on transaction expenses by accepting Bitcoin, “So the incentives are there,” Coen said.
