Bitcoin Island in the Philippines, Have you ever been there?

[bangjoe]

Im in the Philippines but I cant still afford to get right there not financially of course other things matter, if this is widely accepted in their place and sure it will attract the people and travellers who are using crypto as their investment and of course, most of them have their device comes with that they can pay easily, I didn't see this kind of feature they are offering in the news, upon checking in the youtube right now there are a lot of tourists posted their thoughts with the BTC in Boracay and i guess its a good advertisement and attraction to the supporter of bitcoins too but did they already support other coins because market sometimes getting congested.

I am not Filipino but seeing from what you said it is a good step for the development of Bitcoin and economic development in Boracay, I also saw some comments that not so many payments have used bitcoin as an alternative payment for services in that area of the Philippines.

That is one of the benefits that will be obtained, when more and more tourists are interested in going there and using bitcoin and they post it on their social media accounts is much effective marketing so as to bring other tourists to vacation to Boracay, but yes I also think that if only bitcoin is accepted there, considering when the queue at the payment will be a little slow and or transaction fees become more expensive.

[kentrolla]

I wonder how come I was unaware of such things till date, this is really cool and something which will boost the usage of Bitcoin for its original purpose instead of just investment, hope more countries or atleast tourist places follow the same stuff. But, I don't think this would have much impact on economy of the country because apart from a choice of paying through decentralised way we are not offering any investment sort of thing but yeah people will spend more money as it's through Bitcoin because converting crypto to fiat and then international exchange for foreign currency is an hassle but this would resolve the hassle part.

[blockman]

So my question here is that, does the Bitcoin thing on this Island really has impacts to the country's economic growth in the long run?

I haven't visited Boracay although I've been a citizen of this country but it just can't happen right now and it's been so long that I've been planning my trip there. Yes, pouch has worked hard to connect with the local businessmen there to use their wallet and to integrate their businesses to make payments easy with Bitcoin. As for your questions, as long as the locals are being in helped and they're making a living, that's part of economic's growth of our country and they're contributing to the country's purchasing power so, the impact is there but we don't know about for the long term.

Do you really think that this kind of business model has potential in the future or just some kind of a trial and error?

Prolly a trial and error but this isn't really a business model, this is just like an adoption whether the tourists and locals use bitcoin as a payment method it won't matter. And that is because what matters there is that the money that flows from the tourists to the locals.

Is there any possibility for local remittances to worry about this innovation? Please share your thoughts.

Maybe when pouch stops operating, they'll choose another one or when there are some difficulties of accessing the app but only minimal matters and problems I can think of.

[panganib999]

I wonder how come I was unaware of such things till date, this is really cool and something which will boost the usage of Bitcoin for its original purpose instead of just investment, hope more countries or atleast tourist places follow the same stuff. But, I don't think this would have much impact on economy of the country because apart from a choice of paying through decentralised way we are not offering any investment sort of thing but yeah people will spend more money as it's through Bitcoin because converting crypto to fiat and then international exchange for foreign currency is an hassle but this would resolve the hassle part.

Cause the Philippines couldn't figure out its feelings towards cryptocurrency. The previous president's a little indifferent towards bitcoin and crypto, but the current one is actively against it and we even have news surrounding lately wherein Binance is no longer going to be legally supported in our country, which means we can't reliably use cryptocurrencies anymore as a P2P option.

This indecision could be one of the biggest reason why the country never really went so far as to advertise the island as bitcoin paradise despite the countless efforts in the past to beautify and furnish it as one. Not that there's anything wrong about it but it's a clear mismanagement on the government's part, and because of this the country can't even advertise itself as a bitcoin-friendly place anymore lol.

Hopefully something could change within its systems but I really wouldn't expect much at this point. Our president came from a long line of politicians known for graft and corruption, so there's that.

[Kemarit]

I wonder how come I was unaware of such things till date, this is really cool and something which will boost the usage of Bitcoin for its original purpose instead of just investment, hope more countries or atleast tourist places follow the same stuff. But, I don't think this would have much impact on economy of the country because apart from a choice of paying through decentralised way we are not offering any investment sort of thing but yeah people will spend more money as it's through Bitcoin because converting crypto to fiat and then international exchange for foreign currency is an hassle but this would resolve the hassle part.

Cause the Philippines couldn't figure out its feelings towards cryptocurrency. The previous president's a little indifferent towards bitcoin and crypto, but the current one is actively against it and we even have news surrounding lately wherein Binance is no longer going to be legally supported in our country, which means we can't reliably use cryptocurrencies anymore as a P2P option.

This indecision could be one of the biggest reason why the country never really went so far as to advertise the island as bitcoin paradise despite the countless efforts in the past to beautify and furnish it as one. Not that there's anything wrong about it but it's a clear mismanagement on the government's part, and because of this the country can't even advertise itself as a bitcoin-friendly place anymore lol.

Hopefully something could change within its systems but I really wouldn't expect much at this point. Our president came from a long line of politicians known for graft and corruption, so there's that.

I thought that current sitting President is very open to crypto and that's why the island is flourishing. Binance case might be different though, as I thought Binance wasn't able to submit all the documents needed to legalized their foothold on the Philippines.

Regardless, it could really boils down to politics indeed. Duterte might not be loved by the human rights group. But he is not anti-crypto and his government allowed Pouch to operate in Boracay. Hopefully, it doesn't mean an end to Filipino crypto enthusiast as they are one of the biggest in the region.

[Moeda]

Of course this is a very positive thing. Every world tourist can easily make transactions. Especially with the current development of crypto. However, what is more profitable in this position are world tourists, not the Philippines. Of course the most basic reason is that Philippine currency transactions will stop. Where everyone who enters another country must exchange their currency with the currency of the destination country to be able to carry out transactions, currently tourists do not need to exchange currency. But if government control can be guaranteed that crypto transactions can only be carried out on the island. This will provide great benefits to the Philippine government. Policies like this must be studied in more depth, so that they can have a positive impact on both parties.

[DVlog]

IMO it won't attract tourists only because it accepts crypto payments. How many crypto investors travel all around the world and want to use their bitcoin to pay bills? Investors wanted to keep their bitcoin safe while they were ready to use fiat or stablecoin for payments. Perhaps integration of stablecoin payments or any point system where bitcoin holder will get a discount based on their holding incase they want to share that data publicly. This is just a base idea that can be restructured as needed but something like this can be attracted for crypto whale tourists.

[kryptqnick]

I've looked at photos of Boracay, and this place does look really beautiful. The fact that it's already a major resort makes it different from other projects of Bitcoin cities, islands and hubs because those I've seen were intended to be built from ground zero, basically, whereas here, the influx of tourists and a lot of businesses are already there. This, perhaps, will help Boracay succeed where others have failed.
I don't think one island can fix a country's economy, but it may be a step in the right direction.

[strunberg]

Since they have their own wallet e.g. pouch.ph which adopt lightning network, so there's no more complain about the high fees. It could be successful as long as the tax is not big, as long as they can offer many entertainment, it might be successful since the main traffic is the tourist.
The only thing that need to worry is privacy, I can't think there's other problem except that.

Initially I thought that adopting Bitcoin but using the Bitcoin main network would certainly have problems with high fees. For example, buying clothes or souvenirs for $2 and then having to pay a fee of $2 is of course very ineffective. But if they had used the lightning network then I think this would no longer be a problem. I hope to visit that bitcoin island someday. And hopefully the adoption of bitcoin on the island can be a reference for other islands around the world.

[angrybirdy]

I've looked at photos of Boracay, and this place does look really beautiful. The fact that it's already a major resort makes it different from other projects of Bitcoin cities, islands and hubs because those I've seen were intended to be built from ground zero, basically, whereas here, the influx of tourists and a lot of businesses are already there. This, perhaps, will help Boracay succeed where others have failed.
I don't think one island can fix a country's economy, but it may be a step in the right direction.

Indeed, Boracay island is such a beauty and majestic place,
the fine white sand and natural resources that the island of Boracay has will really attract tourists and Many people is actually go there. Now, if there are only big stores or hotels that accept bitcoin payment, it will attract more foreign tourists because we know that many people from other countries have investment in bitcoin rather than local people from Philippines,  I read in a thread that there are only a few stores that offers bitcoin payment in Boracay, and most of them are small type stores, so it would be better for hotels to have that mode of payment.

[arwin100]

Since they have their own wallet e.g. pouch.ph which adopt lightning network, so there's no more complain about the high fees. It could be successful as long as the tax is not big, as long as they can offer many entertainment, it might be successful since the main traffic is the tourist.
The only thing that need to worry is privacy, I can't think there's other problem except that.

Initially I thought that adopting Bitcoin but using the Bitcoin main network would certainly have problems with high fees. For example, buying clothes or souvenirs for $2 and then having to pay a fee of $2 is of course very ineffective. But if they had used the lightning network then I think this would no longer be a problem. I hope to visit that bitcoin island someday. And hopefully the adoption of bitcoin on the island can be a reference for other islands around the world.

This bring a lot of disappointment from new merchant that accept bitcoin since by having such huge fee to pay before they can transact it can discourage people to use this option also to the merchants since they need to pay those huge fee before they can make the transaction happen.

This became a expensive currency to use when they need to buy something that's why I'm not surprise that the number of merchant that accept bitcoin decrease and there's no much hype happened since maybe they didn't succeed on their plan to make Boracay a bitcoin island.

Bitcoin should settle up and fix the problem regarding high fees because if it happens that fee are so cheap for sure more adoption will come and more bitcoin island or city will be created.

[m2017]

So my question here is that, does the Bitcoin thing on this Island really has impacts to the country's economic growth in the long run?

It's very possible. As we see, experiments with bitcoin are only possible in countries with weak economies. It turns out that they have no other magical solutions to strengthen their global position other than to bet on bitcoin. If this arrangement works, then developed countries will find themselves in a position of catching up due to their conservatism.

Do you really think that this kind of business model has potential in the future or just some kind of a trial and error?

To me this looks like a marketing ploy to attract tourists (and bitcoiners among them). But who knows, maybe it will turn out that this initiative on Boracay will receive further development and this will actually lead to the formation of an BTC-island.

I do not expect to spend with Bitcoin on my tourist trips, especially with the limited places that accept payment in Bitcoin, but it is a good step.

This is what will slow down the spread of bitcoin as a means of payment. Bitcoin is rarely used as a means of online payments, but you hope that bitcoin will be widely used for offline payments. This is unlikely to happen due to the reasons you voiced - no one will want to part with an asset that is becoming more expensive.

I just hope that they will be accepted using Bitcoin wallets and not through third-party applications, or that they will convert Bitcoin to dollars by the end of the day.

If they don't convert bitcoin into dollars, they will not be able to spend it because bitcoin3 is not widespread as a means of payment. Not every business can afford to accumulate bitcoin. They need real money to cover operating expenses.

[tygeade]

Im in the Philippines but I cant still afford to get right there not financially of course other things matter, if this is widely accepted in their place and sure it will attract the people and travellers who are using crypto as their investment and of course, most of them have their device comes with that they can pay easily, I didn't see this kind of feature they are offering in the news, upon checking in the youtube right now there are a lot of tourists posted their thoughts with the BTC in Boracay and i guess its a good advertisement and attraction to the supporter of bitcoins too but did they already support other coins because market sometimes getting congested.

If it is not financial, may I ask why you weren't able to go? And, if it is ever possible one day, would it be acceptable for you, to like... shoot a video there? I know there are some youtube ones, but they all look like marketing and shows the best, it would be great to see someone who shoot like streets and so forth to show the reality, like is it really good or not. I think it looks like a marvellous idea and it feels like it would be quite good for everyone.

I think it would benefit people and I believe that we should probably do something about it. I know that it is not going to be that easy, but it will probably be something that will benefit everyone. I know that life is not simple and you may not have the time to go there, but if you ever find the time and ever go there, at least some photos would be very lovely to see.

[dothebeats]

I was there just a few weeks ago and tbh, it's not appealing to pay in bitcoins when there are other viable and rather cheaper options to pay for your drinks like credit cards or those financial apps they have (Gcash, Maya). Also, it's a hassle to pay for something with bitcoin that you need to consume immediately, e.g. cocktails or any other goodies. They will have to wait 1 confirmation before they mark the sale as complete, plus the fact that you as the buyer will need to shoulder the fees.

It's good that the island is being marketed like that, but I don't think this will get traction in the long run.

[iv4n]

IMO it won't attract tourists only because it accepts crypto payments. How many crypto investors travel all around the world and want to use their bitcoin to pay bills? Investors wanted to keep their bitcoin safe while they were ready to use fiat or stablecoin for payments. Perhaps integration of stablecoin payments or any point system where bitcoin holder will get a discount based on their holding incase they want to share that data publicly. This is just a base idea that can be restructured as needed but something like this can be attracted for crypto whale tourists.

I think this island is on the right track, many people have made a lot of money in crypto, I guess we can say that many people earn good from many crypto projects, so why not spend some crypto holdings? I think this is a good way to attract crypto enthusiasts, and maybe even to make some people more involved in crypto. It's easier and cheaper to move and pay for things in crypto, so instead of having a bank card and paying high fees for abroad transactions some people can decide to take crypto with them.

It's a good sign, people all over the world are starting to recognize crypto and the potential it has.  I believe that we will see many more places like this one popping out around the world, crypto havens.

[Lucius]

I thought that current sitting President is very open to crypto and that's why the island is flourishing.
~snip~

Is the president even important in this story? I don't remember ever reading that their president makes statements on that topic, but that's not strange at all because it shouldn't be his job. This is about the fact that the law allows the use of a currency other than the domestic one for payment transactions and nothing more. Bitcoin can be successful in a country without the president or prime minister knowing anything about it, because if something is legal and brings profit, there is no reason to deal with it at the highest political levels.

This bring a lot of disappointment from new merchant that accept bitcoin since by having such huge fee to pay before they can transact it can discourage people to use this option also to the merchants since they need to pay those huge fee before they can make the transaction happen.

This became a expensive currency to use when they need to buy something that's why I'm not surprise that the number of merchant that accept bitcoin decrease and there's no much hype happened since maybe they didn't succeed on their plan to make Boracay a bitcoin island.

Bitcoin should settle up and fix the problem regarding high fees because if it happens that fee are so cheap for sure more adoption will come and more bitcoin island or city will be created.

I just had to quote the whole post considering that you are referring to a post in which someone explains to you that only LN is used on Boracay, and you talk about the need to find a solution and that the fees are expensive and the number of merchants is decreasing. You got everything wrong, down to the last letter...

They will have to wait 1 confirmation before they mark the sale as complete, plus the fact that you as the buyer will need to shoulder the fees.
~snip~

I can only say that you read what I wrote above - and ask how is it possible that you were on that island and remained convinced that everyone uses on-chain transactions?

[lixer]

I can also see some decline on the number of local businesses that accept Bitcoin on the Island but hopefully they're gonna restore what they have started there. Though I am not from that island but I would love to visit that place in the near future just to experience the life of living the whole stay with Bitcoin.

Actually, I also really want to experience something like that on an island that is already very famous for Bitcoin, but because where I live is very far from that island, I am prevented from visiting that island to be able to experience life there with Bitcoin. And I also hope that people there do not ignore their own local businesses even though they already know Bitcoin and can enjoy the benefits of Bitcoin in their own way. Because after all, local businesses that can provide profits for themselves must also continue to be run for their prosperity on the island.

Sorry to hear that you are from it but why not look for nearer places instead that offers the same service? I'm sure there are also places like that because BTC is already popular now. And I'm sure your country will have something like this in the near future. So, just have patience mate.

What you said about supporting a local business is great and true. I also heard this phrase a lot of time online. But not all that are into Bitcoin like to use their Bitcoin like a money. Rather they prefer it to be like an asset. This is the only sad part here. But they can still use their fiats instead. So it would be fine if those businesses also support fiat and other payment methods.

[Moeda]

I've looked at photos of Boracay, and this place does look really beautiful. The fact that it's already a major resort makes it different from other projects of Bitcoin cities, islands and hubs because those I've seen were intended to be built from ground zero, basically, whereas here, the influx of tourists and a lot of businesses are already there. This, perhaps, will help Boracay succeed where others have failed.
I don't think one island can fix a country's economy, but it may be a step in the right direction.

But can this be done correctly when making transactions? When you come to that place you try to buy bread. Of course the price of the bread is converted to that country's currency, then paid with Bitcoin. A few minutes later you buy the same bread, because the price of Bitcoin changes, the amount of Bitcoin you spend of course changes. How is this transaction system implemented in several regions that already accept crypto payments?
I think this is something interesting, so we can apply it to shops in our area, not just focus on tourist areas.

[Kemarit]

I thought that current sitting President is very open to crypto and that's why the island is flourishing.
~snip~

Is the president even important in this story? I don't remember ever reading that their president makes statements on that topic, but that's not strange at all because it shouldn't be his job. This is about the fact that the law allows the use of a currency other than the domestic one for payment transactions and nothing more. Bitcoin can be successful in a country without the president or prime minister knowing anything about it, because if something is legal and brings profit, there is no reason to deal with it at the highest political levels.

Yes, maybe you are not aware how nepotism and corruption is in the Philippines, it might not be direct, but the President's men surely knows what is going on behind everything, specially for those people they have appointed. Binance for example has move to Thailand already because of Philippines hardcore stance against crypto. And if we talk about corruption and politics,

https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/iq/bongbong-marcos-jr-presidential-campaign-donors-given-government-positions/

His top individual donor, Melquiades A. Robles, was appointed chief of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) in July 2022. He contributed P30 million directly to Marcos’ campaign, based on the President’s declarations to the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

And recently we have this thread: The PCSO Lotto is shrouded in doubt due to the picture of the winner shown
We might compare it to Bukele as well, that's why if I'm not mistaken he will be running again for President, although his critics says this is unconstitutional. Because he knows that maybe the next President, will be anti-Bitcoin and all the things he has done for his country will go to zero.

[Lucius]

Yes, maybe you are not aware how nepotism and corruption is in the Philippines, it might not be direct, but the President's men surely knows what is going on behind everything, specially for those people they have appointed. Binance for example has move to Thailand already because of Philippines hardcore stance against crypto. And if we talk about corruption and politics,

I know that the previous president was very strict with criminals, especially with those who deal in drugs - but that supposedly a lot of innocent people (political opponents) died in that war. Of course, if we assume that the elections were fair, then this is what the people chose. Of course, the tails of corruption and tax evasion are common in that country, and even the new president is obviously not a person who is immune to these things.

As for the CEX you mentioned, they had to leave many countries because they worked against the laws of those countries and did not want to adapt. I have no doubt that it is the same case in the case of the Philippines, because they are obviously not against cryptocurrencies, but against companies that do not want to operate in accordance with the law.