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

moneystery

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Quote from: 0t3p0t on January 18, 2024, 05:55:38 AM

Boracay island already get another title as a "Bitcoin island" by Pouch a cryptocurrency wallet service provider here in the country. Bill Mill, the Vice President of Pouch stated that...

Quote

If all the remittance markets were to switch to bitcoin as rails, it would increase the GDP of the entire country by 1%

Source: https://bitpinas.com/cryptocurrency/pouch-ph-boracay-bitcoin-island/

You can watch foreigners exploring on Bitcoin island here:
https://youtu.be/TyDBiBMYP6M?si=FIWIBiQn0Xmq-BPn
https://youtu.be/n5sDNRuUiWg?si=C50MlpvmPlQLliZl
https://youtu.be/ftHLO9gaUb4?si=3aWNt1_8Eceuq9IA

Since Boracay is one of the most beautiful tourist destination in the world that accepts Bitcoin payment I think it will boost the country's economy by attracting more and more foreign crypto enthusiast and tourists around the world. And I can also see booming local businesses getting into Bitcoin transactions on that island.

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? Do you really think that this kind of business model has potential in the future or just some kind of a trial and error? Is there any possibility for local remittances to worry about this innovation? Please share your thoughts.

why should we doubt bitcoin, even now the impact of bitcoin on the world economy continues to strengthen, for a country's economy to strengthen, it needs not only a good cryptocurrency ecosystem but also good regulations regarding cryptocurrency within it.

i don't really understand the details regarding the rules regarding bitcoin in the philippines, but looking at el salvador's success in making bitcoin one of their legal tenders, other countries have the same opportunity to have great success by making bitcoin one of the legal means of payment in their countries.

angrybirdy

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Quote from: Lucius on January 30, 2024, 07:00:16 AM

With this topic in mind, I decided to check if there is any new video from Boracay that mentions Bitcoin and I found one video that is just over 1 month old in which a German family describes their experience on the island when it comes to Bitcoin. Unfortunately, the situation is much worse than what I imagined, because although many stores have signs that accept Bitcoin, in most of them it is not possible to pay with the same.

In one of the comments, a man says that it is simply too expensive for him to convert BTC - > local currency, and would that mean that Pouch charges too much for that conversion?

Click the image to watch the video.

I'm here now at one of the famous Burger and mini resto bar in Boracay where they accept bitcoin as mode of payment. Visit the two Brown boys, located in laketown Station 2. Their meals are a bit pricey but the foods and drinks they offer are delicious. Regarding the bitcoin payment, you are right that the conversion charge from pouch is too high, so maybe even the other foreign tourists who have btc don't use it to pay for their orders, because there are people I have met who also ask about crypto payment but in the end they paid with the credit cards and cash they had.

Lucius

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With this topic in mind, I decided to check if there is any new video from Boracay that mentions Bitcoin and I found one video that is just over 1 month old in which a German family describes their experience on the island when it comes to Bitcoin. Unfortunately, the situation is much worse than what I imagined, because although many stores have signs that accept Bitcoin, in most of them it is not possible to pay with the same.

In one of the comments, a man says that it is simply too expensive for him to convert BTC - > local currency, and would that mean that Pouch charges too much for that conversion?

Click the image to watch the video.

ringgo96

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Quote from: dothebeats on January 28, 2024, 10:39:02 AM

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.

You are great to have been to that place but I am not interested if the service is like you said, of course it will be very inconvenient and visitors will certainly look for ways with easier and cheaper payments, and I am sure they will use credit cards on average, so in the future they have to make a special way of doing transactions and free costs must be borne by them, So I am sure that later many will use Bitcoin, especially now that there are very many crypto users who vacation in various countries and places like this they will definitely visit.

Lucius

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Quote from: Kemarit on January 28, 2024, 07:13:54 PM

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.

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Quote from: Lucius on January 28, 2024, 10:54:04 AM

Quote from: Kemarit on January 27, 2024, 06:32:27 PM

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/

Quote

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.

Moeda

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Quote from: kryptqnick on January 28, 2024, 05:42:46 AM

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.

lixer

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Quote from: Davian144 on January 26, 2024, 08:02:55 AM

Quote from: 0t3p0t on January 25, 2024, 09:17:46 AM

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.

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Quote from: Kemarit on January 27, 2024, 06:32:27 PM

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.

Quote from: arwin100 on January 28, 2024, 08:30:33 AM

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...

Quote from: dothebeats on January 28, 2024, 10:39:02 AM

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?

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Quote from: DVlog on January 27, 2024, 07:44:52 PM

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.

dothebeats

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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.

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Quote from: Peanutswar on January 27, 2024, 07:08:58 AM

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.

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Quote from: 0t3p0t on January 18, 2024, 05:55:38 AM

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.

Quote from: 0t3p0t on January 18, 2024, 05:55:38 AM

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.

Quote from: hugeblack on January 18, 2024, 07:55:21 AM

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.

Quote from: hugeblack on January 18, 2024, 07:55:21 AM

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.

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Quote from: strunberg on January 28, 2024, 06:36:41 AM

Quote from: Jawhead999 on January 18, 2024, 08:39:37 AM

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.

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Quote from: kryptqnick on January 28, 2024, 05:42:46 AM

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.

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Quote from: Jawhead999 on January 18, 2024, 08:39:37 AM

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.

kryptqnick

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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.

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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.

Moeda

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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.

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Quote from: panganib999 on January 27, 2024, 06:27:56 PM

Quote from: kentrolla on January 27, 2024, 03:04:40 PM

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.

Topic: Bitcoin Island in the Philippines, Have you ever been there? (Read 531 times)