The week began with central bankers and financial authorities from 44 countries arriving in El Salvador. The mainstream media ignored it utterly. The IMF began sweating. President Bukele began meme-ing. Everybody assumed they had been there to find out about bitcoin. It was so apparent that no one questioned it.
Related Reading | El Salvador Doubles Down, Buys 500 BTC Amid Dip
Well, because it seems, the representatives had been there for an annual occasion by the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI). The group describes its goal as, “Empowering policymakers & regulatory institutions to advance financial inclusion for the poorest populations.” On the primary three days, the central bankers noticed panels and shaped working teams within the Sheraton Presidente Hotel in San Salvador. On the fourth day, they went to Bitcoin Beach, visited the Hope House, and acquired all the pieces with Lightning funds.
Making mates with central bankers at @HopeHousesv. He stated he loves Bitcoin 🧡 Congrats @nicolasburtey and @romanmartinezc for minting many new bitcoiners this week! pic.twitter.com/WvM6NBTER7
— Martell Fox (@Martellfox) May 20, 2022
The occasion’s title was “Digital Financial Services & SME Finance Working Group Meetings,” and the AFI described its goals alluding, however by no means mentioning bitcoin:
“The working groups are anticipated to offer practical thought leadership and regulatory guidance on crucial and unsolved policy issues in the form of policy models, frameworks, and toolkits as a result of this collaboration and constitute the content backbone of AFI. The meetings also align with El Salvador’s recently launched national financial inclusion strategy which has digitization and access to finance to small businesses as a priority.”
And all of the Central Bankers screamed…. pic.twitter.com/MxdOrYD3lc
— Bitcoin Beach (@Bitcoinbeach) May 20, 2022
In any case, because the video above reveals, all of the central bankers screamed “bitcoin!”
What Did The Central Bankers Actually Do?
From the bottom, this Galoy report on the event has the products. “Through firsthand experience, this group of central bankers is seeing what Bitcoin can do for people left out of the current financial system,” is their conclusion. One of the panels the central bankers noticed on these first few days was in regards to the topic at hand.
“There was one Bitcoin session. Roman Martinez (Chimbera) and Nicolas Burtey shared the story of Bitcoin Beach and provided an introduction to Bitcoin and the Lightning Network”
On these first few days, the central bankers obtained bitcoin wallets arrange.“Outside the conference room the Bitcoin Beach Wallet team set up tables where attendees were shown how to download and use a Lightning wallet.” Those would come in useful on the fourth day, when the organizers took them to El Zonte AKA Bitcoin Beach. Over there, the central bankers paid for all the pieces with their new wallets and “learned how to exchange Bitcoin for dollars at an ATM.”
What a historic day!! Who may’ve thought Central Bankers would have their first expertise with #Bitcoin utilizing Bitcoin Beach Wallet and in El Zonte @bitcoinbeach the place all the pieces began. This is what monetary inclusion appears like! pic.twitter.com/krg8R26mXi
— Bitcoin Beach Wallet (@BTCBeachWallet) May 20, 2022
In a tweet, the Bitcoin Beach Wallet crew shared some footage and reported, “What a historic day!! Who could’ve thought Central Bankers would have their first experience with Bitcoin using Bitcoin Beach Wallet and in El Zonte, where everything started. This is what financial inclusion looks like!”
BTC worth chart for 05/20/2022 on Bitfinex | Source: BTC/USD on TradingView.com
A Troyan Horse
The central bankers got here searching for monetary inclusion and so they obtained it in spades. It’s as Bitcoinist stated in our first report about the situation:
Related Reading | Panama Follows El Salvador as it Plans to Adopt Bitcoin and other crypto like XDC Network as Legal Tender
“El Salvador which is the first country to accept Bitcoin as legal tender will no doubt be the footprint of adoption for other countries interested in making such a move. It is still less than a year after the implementation but the president revealed that they would be discussing how beneficial using BTC as legal tender had been for the country and its citizens.”
You can’t unring a bell. Those central bankers from 44 nations the place the normal banking system failed to perform its targets, now learn about bitcoin. They’ve seen the longer term and there’s no turning again. We’ll really feel the ripples from this occasion quickly sufficient.
Featured Image by jorono on Pixabay | Charts by TradingView
