Bitcoin Forum

https://i.ibb.co/cT39f4v/Bitcoin-PAMBILI-LOD.png (https://ibb.co/PCjyXqY)
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The acceptance of bitcoin as a means of payment in the well-known Philippine island of Boracay can't be stopped anymore,
I just can't imagine that even in a simple store this will happen even when buying loads or prepaid cards, it's already started.

https://i.ibb.co/VSds4vD/BItcoin-sari2store.png (https://ibb.co/swhZYFQ)

This is the funny thing, even in a sari-sari store you can buy soda or soft drinks, whatever chips, bottled water and candy,
and so on you can buy with bitcoin.

https://i.ibb.co/S0M4sV9/BITCOIN-barbershop.png (https://ibb.co/zbBTnP0)

Even in haircuts, bitcoin is accepted as payment, it's interesting to think that even the barber knows
the process of paying bitcoin or accepting it in his small salon or barbershop.

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Final thoughts and Summary:

Based on and in agreement with this article Bitcoin Island(Boracay) has shown that digital payment recognizes Bitcoin in the following:

1. Hotel
2. Bars
3. Restaurants
3. Variety Store
4. Barbershop/Small Salon
5. Telco (prepaid credits)
6. Coffee shops
7. Some tricycle drivers accept bitcoin

This is a good start on this island, because the one who will benefit from it is not only the foreign tourists but also the residents of this area who will gradually become aware of the benefits of bitcoin. I just hope that this style will spread more and more throughout the Philippines.

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Reference : https://bitpinas.com/op-ed/i-got-a-haircut-in-boracay-and-paid-with-bitcoin/?fbclid=IwAR219tLXBXPhmR2GNp3V7NpRY-lIwmkhjuwtydvdiyL0HwO5MSaCJTJyUwk

Interestingly enough, the company/app (Pouch.ph) that sort of like sponsored this implementation is pretty unknown probably outside that island. Great move by them though, I don't know why the biggest Philippine exchange (Coins.ph) hasn't made such a move.

This is definitely good news, not only for island residents but also for tourists who want to pay in Bitcoin. However, the question arises whether tourists can pay with Bitcoin in any other way or exclusively using the app of the company behind this project?

I hope that some other popular tourist destinations will follow this example, because they definitely have nothing to lose, and considering that the popularity of Bitcoin is growing year by year, I hope that there will be more and more people who will start using it as a currency. I will definitely put this island on my wish list when it comes to traveling🏝

Cool thing to see. I am starting to think more and more things like this will push BTC acceptance faster then some other methods.
People coming in for vacations and seeing that some smallish place can do it then why can't some larger ones.
This would make more people look into BTC as a viable option for their business and so on. Don't know if it will really happen that way but it's a thought.

Side note, is that you in the pictures?

-Dave

That is even better news, and I hope that even more shops, restaurants and private renters will accept Bitcoin, and that we will see good results in the time to come. I know that there are very conflicting views when it comes to LN, but for those who want to pay quickly and cheaply with BTC, it is the only logical way.

However, I would like to see classic on-chain payments supported, because if you sit down in a restaurant or cafe and pay the appropriate fee, the transaction will certainly be confirmed until you finish.

An interesting initiative to create a location for using bitcoin for recreation and entertainment. Their website about the Pouch company says that it was founded in August 2021 by Ethan Rose, who left his job as a software engineer in Silicon Valley to help the Philippines reduce the cost of sending money back home. https://pouch.ph/about
Actually, the same goal is pursued by Chivo Wallet in El Salvador.

Lovely thing to see, and to hope that it not only spreads throughout the Philippines, but for this sort of idea to be sponsored in popular locations in other countries too, i feel it will drive massive adoption. It is interesting when tourists can pay for a little thing as a haircut with BTC, people would want to try it out, and many people will follow, in the end people will get to use BTC more often. Some people don't also like the idea of BTC being held only, so if this idea becomes a popular thing in many places, it helps for BTC to be spent duly as a currency.

My sister is currently in Boracay Island now with her husband and friends and I've asked her to find that Pouch.ph store if she has the time.

Well she said yes.

This is the photo she took earlier.

https://i.ibb.co/gv1NXrZ/314020921-416916567149129-252756308081297809-n.jpg

This photo was originally taken from my sister's iPhone.

So it's a big signage along with the iconic Bitcoin logo. Due to her limited time, she didn't have a chance to go to the store and ask for the prices (especially the barber shop).

I'm having plans to go there maybe next month or January 2023 to feature this on my Youtube channel and interview the owner as well as recording while I get a haircut and pay via Bitcoin lightning.

Yeah, and I think this is at least the second mention from Pouch already in this forum that I've come across -- pretty cool of them, and much like the Bitcoin (and LN) initiatives in my resident country, little love from the media, but steadily plodding along doing actual circular economies like these.

Coins.ph? Last I used (fellow freelancers in PH), last year, they were still using legacy wallets =D

Absolutely amazed to see the movement for bitcoin in there. That's what we need for bitcoin adoption. Those mobile currency apps in the countries can be easily replaced if projects like Pouch.ph give access it for root level people. It will obviously avoid the transaction confirmation delay.

It looks like one of those credit shops. Whatever it is, it looks nice to see the logo in local areas. We need more of them all over the world.

I had read a poster about that recently and I just cannot recall it where I saw it.

I must have not been paying attention to crypto news lately since I have not heard of Pouch just yet until you mentioned it.
I am a little bit surprised that Coins did not implement this as well though considering how popular their app is along with other apps like GCash. I would love to use Bitcoin as a payment method once I hopped back into Boracay in my vacation, lol. :D

Surprising indeed. For some reason, this has almost zero media coverage from Philippine local media as far as I know (besides Philippine Daily Inquirer) despite this being totally newsworthy.

Wanting to feel like going there as a tourist enjoying the beautiful island I saw as a reference on Youtube about Boracay.

It's amazing how Boracay Island has now become a tourist attraction especially for bitcoin lovers who can enjoy their vacation there with all payments including buying small things, this is really good great implementation done on Boracay island honestly I want to go there. ;D

Please share your channel here after doing your activities on the island of Boracay and want to know more about life there using bitcoin lightning as payment, even though I already know in several twitter video sources I think I want to be full of curiosity about it. :D

Yeah, we have this in our local board: Pulsuhan niyo naman ito: Boracay, binabalak na gawing Crypto-Island! (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5414363.0).

And just like what I said there, yes, this is really good at Boracay is amongst the top ten as far as tourist destination, not just in the Philippines but around the world.

https://time.com/collection/worlds-greatest-places-2022/6194604/boracay-philippines/

I just do hope that it won't turn out to be like this, https://www.newsbtc.com/news/bank-indonesia-team-police-clampdown-bali-bitcoin-transactions/

And I do agree with @mk4, pouch is pretty unknown, but it's a bold move to spearhead this one in Boracay.

@buwaytress - yeah coins.ph still used legacy, fortunately for us Filipinos, we have a lot of options now for a P2P like Binance. And talking about Binance,


https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/04/04/former-binance-cfo-wei-zhou-buys-coinsph-exchange-report/

Coins.ph kinda did some of the things that this new company is doing, except that it focused mostly on bars and other such establishments in the Metros. Would be nice if coins.ph did one again however this time focusing more on scenic tourist spots just like what pouch.ph did. It promotes tourism, promotes bitcoin, and it's a win-win for everyone.

Tourism is a huge industry that can benefit a lot with mainstream implementation and acceptance of Bitcoin. And since tourist attractions are hub of people from all over the world, the kind of impact is really there. I am happy to see that Boracay which is now a world-class tourist offering of the Philippines is now on the Bitcoin map. In the coming years, am sure that more and more popular locations will be adopting Bitcoin as it is one of the best way to be bringing the money without doing it physically. Welcome to Boracay and enjoy the place with our Bitcoin in there...

Thanks for bringing this one up, I though the implementation would take at least a year or more before merchants accepts Bitcoin or any other crypto. I've heard this before, like a few months ago and I immediately thought the process would literally takes a while.
Good job to the PH local crypto wallet called Pouch.ph for their effort in turning this into reality. I know they've made enough effort as they need to educate these merchants on how Bitcoin transaction works. Not everyone knew about it anyways.
I guess online wallets in PH are now in a tight competition. Pretty good for the users though lol.

Coins.ph is still miles and miles ahead that it's not even funny. And I haven't even really heard of Pouch.ph if not because of this news lol.

Wow, I am not judging but considering that local shop accepting the bitcoin as payment makes me think what is wrong with the rest of the world? Just see the vibes that are coming out of those stickers. Being involved in the crypto I am pretty much aware that how bitcoin is important for me and if I ever see sticker like this in my city then dam, I am pulling out my smart phone right away and be paying for my orders in the bitcoin itself with proud!

This is what needs to be normalised everywhere. That orange sticker should be the normal thing everywhere so that people can get more engaged with it.

That store must be popular locally and if not then tourist must be surprised by them for sure.  :D

Don't think that it doesn't exist in other countries, maybe you're just not aware of it because you didn't get that information. There are thousands of online stores that accept Bitcoin as a means of payment, and some have their own physical branches, and I think that the problem is not that there are no more physical stores, but that most people do not want to pay with Bitcoin for the reason that they consider it exclusively an investment.

If you want changes in this matter, then I would advise you to contact some of the shops where you would be happy to pay with Bitcoin and to activate your local community to do the same. Nothing will change by itself, no matter how long you wait for it.

This is really great even tricycle and small shops are accepting it.
Now that really makes it feel like a currency and not an investment tool.
I haven't tried that wallet and don't know much about it's fee when converting our crypto into Php

That will surely happen, don't worry. It can drive massive adoption because there are so many people who are not yet into bitcoins but if they will saw the signages around the popular places, they will get curious to ask and research about it and will try to test it out but they will stick on using it because there are a lot of benefits of using a bitcoin that is not experienced on other payment methods.

It's boring if we will only keep our btc on our wallet but btc users should try using their btc sometimes. If they can use it for playing online gambling then why not for paying on a haircut, buying in retail stores and using it as a medium to pay for a tricycle ride?

This is a great start for bitcoin not only in Boracay but in the different places in the Philippines. People should only learn the basics in bitcoin so they won’t gone wrong on its transactions. Most likely, if this alternative will start to be known in Boracay, then expect that those other high rated tourist spots will follow later on. I guess bitcoin adoption is becoming more inevitable now provided that a lot of people are also aware and even inclined about it.

I can't wait to visit there someday and pay with the bitcoin that I'm willing to spend, of course, it won't include my holdings.  :P
The team behind this is doing a good job of educating first these stores and merchants to accept bitcoin and they obliged. They're not hard to educate as the adoption became smooth and fast. We can think of it of how fast the adoption is and if most tourist places in the world will do the same and has organizations working for it, the adoption will increase through team.

I wonder what local exchanges they partnered with because this is so important when it comes to their promotions. I never thought they managed to make it happen so fast after they announced it not so long ago. Maybe this is just a small beginning and there will be no doubt if this will become successful, other businesses there will also follow, and not only that, other resorts and tourist spots will also accept bitcoin payment as well because of the current trend.

As far as I know, when was this implemented here in Boracay Sir, and then there is a point in what you said. What we don't know is that using the Pouch wallet may only have a low fee.

Because some of the commenters here said that the coinsph apps were ahead of the pouch.ph but it seems that only the pouch wallet can be used as a wallet app here in Boracay, not coinsph, doesn't it seem like the pouch got the contract here on the island this and the coinsph app didn't get it, but still this event is really good in bitcoin island.

I believe people spending BTC more often will be crucial to BTC's mass adoption, i don't feel there are enough physical stores accepting BTC because there are not enough people willing to spend their BTC over-the-counter, the demand for such service is still minimal and that's one of the reasons merchants may not add it, asides the fact that BTC is volatile. If there are more people requesting business men and women to accept payment for their goods in BTC, there'll be greater awareness about BTC and it will spread to other areas like the barber shop, taxi payment, etc.

The fee costs needed for sending bitcoins will be adjusted and of course cheaper, Pouch.ph uses the Lightning Bitcoin network which will certainly save fees and transactions are made faster. Small transactions are also possible because of the lightning network used.

https://i.imgur.com/lanzbWq.png

I also just found out about Boracay as a Bitcoin island, this will make a big impact on bitcoin adoption. and it will be an amazing experience to be on bitcoin island, no need for cash anymore, just bitcoin.

[Porting over my post from a repeat thread showing an influencer video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyDBiBMYP6M).]

Happy as always, and nice to see. But would be even nicer to see non-marketing, non-influencer, non-touristy proof of use. Now I'm really wondering if there's someone behind all of these Boracay mentions, as someone's got to be paying these American influencers (or am I being cynical?).

Regular community meetings, local merchant conventions or local weekly meetups, these are to me more significant signs that show they could rise up to make Bitcoin a serious challenger or at least alternative for payments.

Still, thumbs up!

What a great invent it is! Really I'm surprising from it.A very small shop accepting BTC pay.Here, payment system very easy i think and no have gas fee for paying payment. I think, this type of system will be good for visitors country like where people's easly can make payment.

If I’m not mistaken about this app, You can send Bitcoin directly even using different wallet since  this is same with coins.ph PHP wallet that automatically converts Bitcoin to there PHP balance once you send Bitcoin on there special Bitcoin address but I’m sure they preferred pouch.ph app for a fast transaction since it’s off-chain. The only thing sucks on this app was it requires on the spot KYC after registration.

I just saw my favorite vlogger do some content in related with this news. He is searching all establishments that accepts Bitcoin all over Boracay.

Link to video: https://youtu.be/TyDBiBMYP6M

Honestly am impressed, this is the type of awareness, acceptance and usage that we all want to see with btc. This bitcoin island will surely have the support of the vast btc community. I can't believe even the small business owners like the barber's shop for example can accept btc, am very impressed by this.
Imagine when we have many bitcoin island or city or whatever name that suits like this in different countries, the demand will be crazy. This is an interesting news.

Yay, Cool let’s go to Boracay then. I am not sure what El Salvador is missing which is not giving spark to the locals to use the bitcoin and do a mass adoption of the same. Is it anything like that if government is involved into something then the trust is hampered somehow? Or may be it has got something to do with different peeps with different mindset towards the bitcoin?
I think places which are more or less leisure, fun, escape spaces are the one where bitcoin adoption is on the accelerated rate as compared to the dense places with city lights. However in all, Boracay has given me good gesture. Thanks for sharing this.  :D

First time I heard with Boracay as the island in Philippines have been accepted Bitcoin as legal currency transaction several important sector Hotel, Bars, Restaurants and Etc. I think will make completed when transportation accepted using Bitcoin as currency transaction where airplane ticketing easy by using Bitcoin as payment way.

Note in my list for next time travelling based on Philippines in South Asian its easy controlling and go there, actually I am not really excited with place destination in Boracay but I have priority when using Bitcoin as payment currency transaction.

El Salvador is busy accumulating Bitcoin and doesn't emphasize companies like pouch.com to tap their citizen.  I think they are more on saving Bitcoin for the country's reserve fund.  Besides this Pouch activity isn't inspired by the government.  It is their own marketing ploy to promote their service.  It is that the core of their marketing strategy is to use a well-known tourist spot, announced it as Bitcoin Island while tapping retail stores to install their application and instruct them about Bitcoin transactions.



People are getting more interest if the service is implemented in a place of leisure.  And I think Pouch.com is successful in getting a tourist attraction.

Philipines already have good number of cryptocurrency users. Now an island dedicatedly functioning with bitcoin acceptance in all businesses is a great move. Myself too hearing about the island for the first time, but this island gets to be popular very soon.

The real-time usage keeps the market strong and progressive. It is quite hard to find with majority of the cryptocurrencies. In all means we should also support real-time usage and if there arises an opportunity to spend we should spend atleast a little. Hope the island gets a good number of the bitcoiners visit.

This may be a small problem, especially for tourists who plan to spend several hundreds of $ in BTC, and therefore should go through the KYC process. It would be good if the verification was not required for smaller amounts.


It's the same video posted by @buwaytress a few posts above, and I wouldn't mind watching a few more videos featuring Zowie Pallier either ;)

The company behind this app is unknown here in PH and this exactly the cons on this application because they don’t have tier to apply KYC unlike coins.ph. Only few user is using the app here but I hope the participants themselves will try to learn Bitcoin and not rely solely on the app. I’m planning to visit Boracay this December and I will try my best to educate them more on how tp use the real Bitcoin using non custodial wallet.



RealTalk, I’m focus 99% to zowie herself and 1% on her content most of the time when watching her video which is the reason I’m late share here. I just remember that she had a content about Bitcoin after reading this thread and voila they are connected when I double check.  ;D

This is definitely a great news for bitcoin. Knowing Boracay, a lot of tourists here come and go so for sure this will create a good awareness that bitcoin can also be a useful payment method aside from being a profitable investment. Not only on the side of the tourists, but this will also encourage more merchants as bitcoin is more convenient to use than fiat.

I hope you will share your experiences with us, and if not sooner, maybe at the next ATH some of us will decide to visit that island and spend some BTC, which would certainly be an interesting experience. It will be interesting to see if the number of tourists to Boracay will increase because they have enabled Bitcoin as a means of payment, because I know that Bitcoin is quite popular in the Philippines.

I hope this isn't veering way too far from Boracay but 3 years ago I hooked up this person Kylie (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avHEz1qo5Nw) with Bitcoin accepting networks in Iran -- also to do pretty much the same (travel, airport, local debit card, with Bitcoin, as Visa and banking are sanctioned for use in Iran). Since you connoiseurs seem to enjoy these kinds of videos.

Need to poke her to do another Bitcoin video series now.

Bet there are so many others, in different languages. Sadly, no time for this now.

Yes it is very popular to the point that there were be a news last year that they will ban crypto and other things related to crypto and that makes our govt seems to be a little bit outdated and nevermind. Having a store accepting bitcoin is good because many people from different nations are visiting boracay especially during summer, I just regret that I did not see it when I go to boracay last year.

Let's revive this topic, because I saw that there are some new videos based on which it seems that Bitcoin is very well accepted in Boracay. I am also interested in whether any of the forum members may have visited the island and may want to share their experiences? @Beparanf

BITCOIN ISLAND in BORACAY [DOCUMENTAIRE] || Overleven met BITCOIN in de Filipijnen [ENG SUBTITLES] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5-wEvR8kD0)

That’s great news seeing bitcoin has definitely got high demand in Boracay. I am really setting my plan to finally visit this beautiful island together with my family, hopefully we can do it this year. I haven’t seen the videos for now but I have to check for it later on. Well, this could be a good start for Philippines to finally adopt bitcoin as this could bring huge benefits not only to bitcoin users alone, but to the country’s economy as well.

I think that this example is proof that adaptation does not necessarily have to come from the top of the political power, but can be successfully carried out by an individual with a good idea - of course, provided that such things are not prohibited by law. Some may object to the way Bitcoin is accepted on the island, because there is an intermediary who converts BTC into local currency through his app, but due to its volatility, there are rare examples of someone wanting to accept BTC as a direct payment.

If the example of Boracay turns out to be successful, I don't see why other tourist destinations around the world wouldn't try the same concept - after all, Bitcoin is a currency and should be used as such.

I will have to take a visit to Boracay to see how integrated the process is. I have some ideas that seeing in practice would held in me bringing them to fruition.

This is the real adoption, because the usage comes from the low bottom. When a corporate network starts accepting bitcoin, the usage gets limited at some level. The flow won't move to the very lower bottom. Here this is already a big success. An application that converts bitcoin instantly and settle the receiver in the form of fiat is good for the beginning days. Slowly things could change and vendors start direct acceptance of bitcoin understanding the potential and the goodness bitcoin can bring into one's life.