Soy502 counts 15 businesses taking bitcoin on the Atitlán shore, April 2022
A one minute clip by Guatemalan outlet Soy502, published in April 2022, shows how early the project was: 15 businesses, from cafes to crafts.
On April 12, 2022 the Guatemalan news outlet Soy502 published a 1 minute 11 second video, credited on screen to Wilder López, asking how bitcoin has spread around Lake Atitlán. The video has music only. All the information comes from on-screen Spanish text, so nobody speaks.
The captions say that for several weeks the use of the cryptocurrency to pay at the lakeside had been reported, and that several businesses and companies had begun to handle it. Then comes the number: at that time the project had 15 businesses accepting bitcoin, ranging from cafes and restaurants to hotels and crafts.
The pictures show what that looked like. A pizzeria and cafe called Atlantis has a tuk tuk parked outside and a banner that reads 'We accept Bitcoin, in association with Bitcoin Beach, Lake Bitcoin'. A worker writes ACEPTAMOS BITCOIN on a chalkboard. A craft stall sells bags and purses. A lakeside sign carries the logos of Bitcoin Beach and the lake project, with an information phone number, and a restaurant has a mural inside.
Why it matters: it is a dated count from very early in the story. By September 2022, according to our own timeline, the project said bitcoin could be used in more than 60 places. So the number grew about fourfold in five months.
This is a record from April 2022. Businesses have come and gone since, so do not read the list as today's map.
In their words
At present this project has 15 businesses that accept transactions with the cryptocurrency.
ranging from cafes, restaurants, hotels, crafts
We accept Bitcoin, in association with Bitcoin Beach, Lake Bitcoin (banner at a lakeside business)
This summary is based on the video's automatic captions. If something is wrong, tell us and we will fix it.
