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Expats from all over the world are flocking to Paraguay as we speak. A few early adopters sparked the Bitcoin movement in the country, and now that fire has taken a life of its own. Join us as we explore what Bitcoin Paraguay built.
I had to see it for myself. Since I wrote this article about Bitcoin Paraguay, I couldn’t shake the idea of packing up my bags and joining the movement, albeit temporarily. That article ends with the Satoshi homage: “It might make sense just to visit Paraguay, in case it catches on,” and that’s just what I did.
What I found there shook me to my core. Bitcoin Paraguay is building something gigantic and pure. In the following chronicle, I’ll do my best to describe what I found.
When I arrived at my first Paraguayan meetup, I didn’t know anyone. I interviewed and exchanged a few emails with Bitcoin Paraguay’s director Jan Kotas, but I didn’t even know what he looked like. The place was packed and there was someone speaking, but the acoustics weren’t the best. Since I went there for the social aspect of the meetups and not to listen to presentations, this didn’t bother me.
I immediately noticed foreigners in attendance clearly outnumbered the Paraguayans. I talked to a couple of people I never saw again, found Jan, who was in the Lightning bazaar selling hardware wallets, and realized I had come too late and the event was about to end.
There was a raffle that I couldn’t buy tickets for, and then I ended up going to a bar with nightclub vibes with random bitcoiners I had never met and also never saw again. The night ended early for me because the vibes were off. I should have gone to a quiet bar to continue discussing Bitcoin instead.
Since then, Bitcoin Paraguay changed the meetups to a much bigger venue with better sound equipment. They also moved to Wednesdays, so the place is exclusive for Bitcoiners for the night. I’ve been twice, and it was packed both times. Curiously, there are always new people in attendance, and the demographics are slowly changing. Percentage-wise, I would say it’s 50% Paraguayans and 50% rest of the world since the venue change.
The last meetup I went to celebrated Bitcoin Paraguay’s one-year anniversary. That’s right, they’ve built all this in just twelve months.
Just before going to the event, I received an email. It said that the venue, located in a fancy “smart” building, required scanning your face for entry. I almost didn’t go, but I’m in Paraguay for Bitcoin. I got there and tried to fool security into letting me in without scanning. However, the guard wielded a webcam, told me to smile for the picture, and I fell for it like a child.
With my face scan already on the system, I went up to some techy open office that had a ping pong table and employees seemingly having fun and eating pizza. I felt sad for them. They probably weren’t aware of how they were being manipulated to stay this late at work. That wasn’t my problem, though.
I entered the auditorium and everybody in there turned to look at me, perplexed. As it turns out, I had a Dorian Nakamoto mask on. I kept it the whole time for no reason at all.
The discussion was intense, and the people participating were interesting. I won’t say much because it was a private meeting, even though there are pictures going around.
After that, Bitdevs also changed venues to a less police-state-influenced one, and discussions got even hotter with the OP_RETURN debate and the Quantum conundrum. It’s a monthly meeting, so there’s a lot to cover. These Socratic seminars might be less technical than other Bitdevs meetings around the world, because the crowd demands it. There aren’t many devs among Bitcoin Paraguay’s membership at the moment, which could be an opportunity for all you coders out there.
I had the privilege of being selected as one of the participants in My First Bitcoin’s first workshop for teachers in Paraguay. I completed Anita Posch’s “Crack The Orange” program a few months ago, and I was aching to continue my education in Bitcoin… ehem… education. With that in mind, the opportunity to go through the My First Bitcoin curriculum was too good to pass up, even if it meant investing five full days in a classroom.
Little did I know how fun it was going to be. Plus, exciting, revealing, and challenging.
The group was extremely varied, both in age and in Bitcoin knowledge. There were university students and senior citizens. There were experts and complete novices. We all had a blast, every single one of us was engaged from start to finish. It was a real joy to watch the participants' eyes light up when they got an elusive idea about Bitcoin or the legacy financial system.
For me, it was surprisingly useful to go through basic Bitcoin concepts once again. And I did get a lot of new information I had somehow missed. More importantly, I realized teaching Bitcoin can be fun and appealing if the participants are into it. The process fed on a mixture of the students’ energy and the teacher’s willingness to let us play.
So, anyway, I’m a My First Bitcoin-certified Bitcoin teacher now.
Learning how to build and configure a hardware wallet from off-the-shelf parts was an offer I couldn’t refuse. It was an expensive workshop for a working-class South American like me, but I reframed it as an investment in my future and went for it. This time, the participants were few and mostly German expats. On the other side of the table were an Italian, a Greek, a Bitcoin Paraguay ambassador, and myself.
We rose to the terrace of a luxury condo, and immediately started to nerd out. The DIY spirit, the tiny pieces, the intense focus, and attention to detail needed… the experience was a delight. Building a Specter wallet with my own hands was like crafting a piece of art.
We learnt about the project’s history, verified the software’s authenticity, turned screws, connected cameras, and tested the equipment. It was exhilarating, what a way to spend an afternoon.
Sadly, I subsequently lost the wallet in a boating accident, but that’s a story for another day.
For this one, Bitcoin Paraguay joined forces with Escuelita Bitcoin and Penguin. Two of my classmates at the My First Bitcoin workshop worked at Fundación Guadalupe, an orphanage in the heart of Asunción’s downtown. The kids there cooked pizza and prepared shows for the lucky assistants, whose BTC payments had a direct impact on their lives.
My biggest mistake on this whole trip was not arriving on time for this event. I got there right at the end and missed the food and the shows, but at least I got to collaborate and hang out with the incredibly special kids for a while. They were something else.
www.instagram.com/p/DKal9ZHy7s1/
As you can see in the video above, the BTC was quickly put into use and financed much-needed repairs on Fundación Guadalupe’s infrastructure. Bitcoin Paraguay, Escuelita Bitcoin, and Penguin did something great here. Let’s hope it becomes an annual event.
Exchanging BTC for Guaraníes is easy and the market is active, but the process is not as comfortable as many may want. There are no off-ramps here. The Bitcoin Paraguay organization is making an effort to build a market both in Robosats and Vexl, but so far, the market on those apps is limited.
At least for me, a foreigner with no bank account in Paraguay, the best way to exchange at the moment is old-school style. Offering the BTC or the Guaraníes at meetups to people you already semi-trust, and completing the transaction elsewhere.
I did it a few times, always with different counterparties, and I have zero incidents to report. Of course, I was as careful as I could be each and every time. Stay vigilant, Bitcoiner.
Bitcoin Paraguay is building. The movement is growing. The excitement is in the air. However, there’s still a lot of room to grow. In each meetup, there’s a little Lightning market that needs more sales and promotion. The BTC marketplace on Vexl and Robosats is slowly growing, but you can’t count on it just yet. There are not that many Bitcoin builders in the country at the moment.
All of that will change sooner than later. Bitcoin Paraguay’s trajectory seems unstoppable and could only be hindered by government intervention. Sadly, there’s precedent.
See, Paraguay produces more energy than it consumes, so the Bitcoin mining industry set up shop here to buy that extra energy and put it to good use. They were paying much more than Brazil, which used to buy it before. Enter, the government. In a misguided effort to kill the golden goose, they intervened, added taxes and bureaucracy to the mix, and suddenly it became unprofitable to mine in Paraguay.
The pleb-oriented Bitcoin Paraguay movement is much less vulnerable to that kind of action, sure, but it’s still vulnerable. If the government doesn’t get involved, I predict it will grow into a force to be reckoned with worldwide.
Last but not least, this is the second “first person shooter chronicle.” The first one was about Bitcoin++ in Buenos Aires, and everyone should read it.
