Bitcoin Beach is a locally led project to build bitcoin circulation, best known for El Zonte. It brings together community programs, bitcoin income, merchants and user support. The project, the historical Bitcoin Beach Wallet and El Salvador’s state policy are different things.
The project built on longstanding youth work around Hope House. Its whitepaper publishes the original proposal from 2019 and describes support from an anonymous bitcoin donor and the local team. El Zonte became a well-known example of community use before El Salvador’s Bitcoin Law took effect in 2021. The project’s beginning must not be confused with the start of the state program. [Bitcoin Beach — BUBBLEs whitepaper] [IMF — El Salvador report 25/58]
According to the project website, bitcoin donations fund stipends for local people involved in its activities. Onboarding merchants is intended to let recipients spend their bitcoin again. Food, services and bills give payments practical purposes. This is the project’s account: actual repeat purchases and merchants’ subsequent bitcoin spending need separate verification. [Bitcoin Beach — Project overview]
Official programs include bitcoin education, English and business skills, Surf Para Todos, a local fellowship and advising other communities. BUBBLEs emphasizes trust, in-person onboarding and accessible help when problems arise. Downloading a wallet is not the same as being able to receive, back up and use money safely; human support is part of the model. [Bitcoin Beach — Our work] [Bitcoin Beach — BUBBLEs whitepaper]
Galoy created Bitcoin Beach Wallet, launched in El Zonte in 2020. An announcement in 2023 renamed it Blink and described its expansion beyond the original community. The historical solution simplified Lightning payments, usernames and a merchant map, but used provider custody. The wallet is neither the entire community project nor the state app Chivo. [Blink — Introducing Blink] [Bitcoin Beach — BUBBLEs whitepaper] [IMF — El Salvador report 25/58]
In June 2026, Blink also announced accounts described as non-custodial, built on Spark, with users responsible for their recovery phrase. The June text also said the protocol-level exit to the main chain was not yet available directly in the app. The July announcement addresses migration in some regions according to personal notices. Thus, the old model cannot describe every account; check the account type, version, recovery, and technological and operational dependencies. [Blink — Non-custodial accounts announcement] [Blink — Regional custodial account changes]
The national law of 2021 and Chivo have a different scope and responsibility from Bitcoin Beach. In March 2025, the IMF described reforms making bitcoin acceptance voluntary and restricting tax payments to US dollars. This dated national context does not measure today’s payments in El Zonte. In evaluation, separate community work, state incentives and the specific legal period. [IMF — El Salvador report 25/58] [IMF — March 2025 briefing]
The whitepaper includes the project’s own historical figures for the end of 2021; these are not a current independent survey. Merchant, installation or visitor counts are not counts of households paying regularly. For evaluation, record the period, local versus tourist payments, donations, repeated use and collection method. Observing one village cannot simply be generalized to El Salvador or establish the cause of a change in living standards. [Bitcoin Beach — BUBBLEs whitepaper] [IMF — El Salvador report 25/58]
BUBBLEs offers principles for similar local projects, and the website lists other initiatives, including Bitcoin Ekasi and Bitcoin Jungle. Transferring a name or an app does not transfer trust, available goods, funding or local conditions. Donations and tourism can help while also distorting the picture of self-sufficiency. Meaningful replication needs its own goals, budget, support and evaluation after incentives end. [Bitcoin Beach — BUBBLEs whitepaper] [Bitcoin Beach — Our work]
A tourist’s purchase and local circulation are different evidence
In a hypothetical situation, a tourist pays for food over Lightning and the merchant verifies the payment. This establishes a specific payment, not regular use by local households. If the merchant uses some income for local compensation and its recipient buys something again, that adds evidence of continuing circulation. Even this example alone does not show the project’s dependence on donations or the outcome for all of El Salvador.
For the clearest picture, read this entry together with Bitcoin Circular Economy, El Salvador Bitcoin Law, Lightning Network, Merchant Adoption, Bitcoin and Financial Inclusion, Bitcoin. The reverse links also lead from Bitcoin Circular Economy, Bitcoin Ekasi, Bitcoin and Financial Inclusion.
01Is Bitcoin Beach the same as Blink or Chivo?+
No. Bitcoin Beach is a community initiative. Blink is the wallet formerly called Bitcoin Beach Wallet; Chivo originated as a state wallet. Shared use of bitcoin does not make them the same project or the same custody model.
02Does a successful payment in El Zonte prove nationwide adoption?+
No. It establishes a particular place, time and payment path. Assessing broader adoption requires appropriately selected data, repeated use, and distinctions between residents, visitors, donations and state incentives.