{"code":"26052","sect":"Central America","sect_slug":"central-america","hits":"2110","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/en\/202203\/centroamerica\/26052","link_edit":"","name":"Bitcoin Believers Look for New Paradise at Mayan Lake","slug":"bitcoin-believers-look-for-new-paradise-at-mayan-lake","info":"","mtag":"Inequality","noun":{"html":"\u003Cspan class='tint-text--dark' data_href='\/user\/profile\/rgressier'\u003E Roman Gressier\u003C\/span\u003E","data":{"roman-gressier":{"sort":"rgressier","slug":"roman-gressier","path":"roman_gressier","name":"Roman Gressier","edge":"0","init":"0"}}},"view":"2110","pict":{"cms-image-000037309-jpg":{"feat":"0","sort":"37309","name":"cms-image-000037309.jpg","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000037309.jpg","path":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000037309.jpg","back":"","slug":"cms-image-000037309-jpg","text":"<p>The Council of Elders Riajaw Tinamit Panajachel signed an open letter in January to Mayor C\u00e9sar Piedrasanta demanding an end to construction projects on their ancestral lands, especially along the beaches. The Los Salpores Jucany\u00e1 Beach Committee and the Communal Commission for Women co-signed. Photo: Facebook page \"Pana Like\"<\/p>","capt":"\u003Cp\u003EThe Council of Elders Riajaw Tinamit Panajachel signed an open letter in January to Mayor C\u00e9sar Piedrasanta demanding an end to construction projects on their ancestral lands, especially along the beaches. The Los Salpores Jucany\u00e1 Beach Committee and the Communal Commission for Women co-signed. Photo: Facebook page \"Pana Like\"\u003C\/p\u003E"},"cms-image-000037310-jpeg":{"feat":"0","sort":"37310","name":"cms-image-000037310.jpeg","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000037310.jpeg","path":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000037310.jpeg","back":"","slug":"cms-image-000037310-jpeg","text":"<p>Patrick Melder (below) with the founder of Centro Educativo Josu\u00e9, Nancy R\u00edos (far left), and interpreter Josu\u00e9 De Le\u00f3n (above). Melder and the private Christian grade school in Panajachel are developing a curriculum to teach grade school students of all ages about bitcoin. Photo courtesy of Melder.<\/p>","capt":"\u003Cp\u003EPatrick Melder (below) with the founder of Centro Educativo Josu\u00e9, Nancy R\u00edos (far left), and interpreter Josu\u00e9 De Le\u00f3n (above). Melder and the private Christian grade school in Panajachel are developing a curriculum to teach grade school students of all ages about bitcoin. Photo courtesy of Melder.\u003C\/p\u003E"},"cms-image-000037311-jpg":{"feat":"1","sort":"37311","name":"cms-image-000037311.jpg","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000037311.jpg","path":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000037311.jpg","back":"","slug":"cms-image-000037311-jpg","text":"<p>Artisan Enrique Gonz\u00e1lez learned to work leather form his father and now sells to tourists at his shop in Panajachel. Two years of the pandemic hit his business hard, and he's now looking for new sources of revenue. Bitcoin Lake founder Patrick Melder convinced him to install a QR code in his store to take tips in bitcoin, though he hasn't yet dared to take full payments. Photo: Roman Gressier\/El Faro<\/p>","capt":"\u003Cp\u003EArtisan Enrique Gonz\u00e1lez learned to work leather form his father and now sells to tourists at his shop in Panajachel. Two years of the pandemic hit his business hard, and he's now looking for new sources of revenue. Bitcoin Lake founder Patrick Melder convinced him to install a QR code in his store to take tips in bitcoin, though he hasn't yet dared to take full payments. Photo: Roman Gressier\/El Faro\u003C\/p\u003E"},"cms-image-000037312-jpg":{"feat":"0","sort":"37312","name":"cms-image-000037312.jpg","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000037312.jpg","path":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000037312.jpg","back":"","slug":"cms-image-000037312-jpg","text":"<p>When popular British podcaster and El Salvador bitcoin promoter Peter McCormack (center, beige hat) visited Atitl\u00e1n in May 2021, Crypto Atitl\u00e1n founder Rishi Bond (bottom) says he became convinced of the importance of getting local businesses to start using bitcoin on the Lightning Network. Gathering at Bambu Guest House in Tzunun\u00e1, Solol\u00e1. Photo: McCormack Twitter account.<\/p>","capt":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen popular British podcaster and El Salvador bitcoin promoter Peter McCormack (center, beige hat) visited Atitl\u00e1n in May 2021, Crypto Atitl\u00e1n founder Rishi Bond (bottom) says he became convinced of the importance of getting local businesses to start using bitcoin on the Lightning Network. Gathering at Bambu Guest House in Tzunun\u00e1, Solol\u00e1. Photo: McCormack Twitter account.\u003C\/p\u003E"},"cms-image-000037313-jpg":{"feat":"0","sort":"37313","name":"cms-image-000037313.jpg","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000037313.jpg","path":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000037313.jpg","back":"","slug":"cms-image-000037313-jpg","text":"<p>Patrick Melder first met with Panajachel Mayor C\u00e9sar Piedrasanta on Jan. 25, 2022. They spoke of the basics of bitcoin, discussed tourism and how to convert natural waste to energy, and left the mayor with $50 dollars\u2019 worth of the cryptocurrency. Photo courtesy of Melder.<\/p>","capt":"\u003Cp\u003EPatrick Melder first met with Panajachel Mayor C\u00e9sar Piedrasanta on Jan. 25, 2022. They spoke of the basics of bitcoin, discussed tourism and how to convert natural waste to energy, and left the mayor with $50 dollars\u2019 worth of the cryptocurrency. Photo courtesy of Melder.\u003C\/p\u003E"},"cms-image-000037314-jpeg":{"feat":"0","sort":"37314","name":"cms-image-000037314.jpeg","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000037314.jpeg","path":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000037314.jpeg","back":"","slug":"cms-image-000037314-jpeg","text":"<p>Patrick Melder (below, black shirt) with youth from Centro Educativo Josu\u00e9 and the Antigua Guatemala-based Christian group Adventures in Missions. For now he doesn\u2019t plan on moving to Guatemala to run Bitcoin Lake. He\u2019s recruited the help of Seth Barnes (back right), CEO of Adventures in Missions, to help out in between his trips. Photo courtesy of Melder.<\/p>","capt":"\u003Cp\u003EPatrick Melder (below, black shirt) with youth from Centro Educativo Josu\u00e9 and the Antigua Guatemala-based Christian group Adventures in Missions. For now he doesn\u2019t plan on moving to Guatemala to run Bitcoin Lake. He\u2019s recruited the help of Seth Barnes (back right), CEO of Adventures in Missions, to help out in between his trips. Photo courtesy of Melder.\u003C\/p\u003E"},"cms-image-000037315-jpeg":{"feat":"0","sort":"37315","name":"cms-image-000037315.jpeg","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000037315.jpeg","path":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000037315.jpeg","back":"","slug":"cms-image-000037315-jpeg","text":"<p>View of Lake Atitl\u00e1n from Barrio 2 in San Marcos La Laguna. Kaqchikel residents call the spot of this photo Tz'un Ucuy, or \"tip of the nose of the chipil\u00edn branch.\" Tourists know the location by the name of a private complex of chalets called \"Eagle's Nest,\" one of the first businesses around the lake to begin accepting bitcoin as payment. Photo: Roman Gressier\/El Faro<\/p>","capt":"\u003Cp\u003EView of Lake Atitl\u00e1n from Barrio 2 in San Marcos La Laguna. Kaqchikel residents call the spot of this photo Tz'un Ucuy, or \"tip of the nose of the chipil\u00edn branch.\" Tourists know the location by the name of a private complex of chalets called \"Eagle's Nest,\" one of the first businesses around the lake to begin accepting bitcoin as payment. Photo: Roman Gressier\/El Faro\u003C\/p\u003E"}},"pict_main__sort":37311,"date":{"live":"2022\/03\/20"},"data_post_dateLive_YY":"2022","data_post_dateLive_MM":"03","data_post_dateLive_DD":"20","text":"\u003Cp id=\"docs-internal-guid-52a49b3c-7fff-2384-29f8-47aae55db23b\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"\/es\/202203\/centroamerica\/26053\/Los-creyentes-en-bitcoin-buscan-un-nuevo-para%C3%ADso-en-Atitl%C3%A1n.htm\"\u003E\u003Cem\u003ELeer en espa\u00f1ol\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EAfter nightfall, a bus loaded with maskless North American and European tourists slowed to a halt at the side of the road in San Pablo La Laguna, a Maya Tzutujil lake town tucked in the Guatemalan highlands. Light spilled onto the dark intersection from a crowded Evangelical church. \u201cSan Marcos, San Marcos,\u201d the driver called out. One French tourist on the bus nervously muttered to the woman accompanying him: \u201cWhat are we doing here?\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EI alone stepped off the bus with the driver. He took me in the dark to a line of tiny red motorized taxi carts. \u201cI paid for your tuktuk. Good luck,\u201d he said, before darting off into the night. Uninterested in the detour, upon arrival in San Pablo he had turned my bus ticket to neighboring San Marcos La Laguna, without consulting me, into a rickety ride in a tuktuk just barely capable of carrying me and two elderly Kaqchikel women uphill.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EBoth saint-named towns sit along Atitl\u00e1n, an idyllic lake in the crossroads of three Mayan peoples: the Kaqchikel, K\u2019iche\u2019, and Tzutujil. For eight decades the lake, which rests in the crater of a volcano, has been a magnet for tourists, wealthy expats, missionaries, and other wanderers. The first wave of visitors on new roads in the 1940s tried to turn Atitl\u00e1n into a glitzy \u201c\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/magazine\/archive\/2007\/09\/the-grateful-living\/306118\/\"\u003ECanc\u00fan of the mountains\u003C\/a\u003E.\u201d Two decades later, the lakeside town of Panajachel became the site of a commune of New Age hippies.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EIt was just a matter of time until bitcoiners arrived.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E \u003Cfigure class=\"pict pict_land pict_move_posc 0 cs_img cs_img--curr rule--ss_c\" data-shot=\"pict\" data-hint=\"pict\"\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"pict__pobj text-overflow\"\u003E\u003Cimg src=https:\/\/elfaro.net\/get_img?ImageWidth=3000&ImageHeight=2000&ImageId=37315 class=\"pobj\" style=\"max-width: 100%\" rel=\"resizable\" alt=\"View of Lake Atitl\u00e1n from Barrio 2 in San Marcos La Laguna. Kaqchikel residents call the spot of this photo Tz'un Ucuy, or \"tip of the nose of the chipil\u00edn branch.\" Tourists know the location by the name of a private complex of chalets called \"Eagle's Nest,\" one of the first businesses around the lake to begin accepting bitcoin as payment. Photo: Roman Gressier\/El Faro\" \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E \u003Cfigcaption class=\"pict__text cs_img_caption folk_content typo_buttons line--ss_s0c line--ss_s0c--auto block full-width text-overflow rule--ss_l relative\"\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"__content block-inline full-width align-top tint-text--idle relative\"\u003E View of Lake Atitl\u00e1n from Barrio 2 in San Marcos La Laguna. Kaqchikel residents call the spot of this photo Tz'un Ucuy, or \"tip of the nose of the chipil\u00edn branch.\" Tourists know the location by the name of a private complex of chalets called \"Eagle's Nest,\" one of the first businesses around the lake to begin accepting bitcoin as payment. Photo: Roman Gressier\/El Faro \u003Cdiv class=\"photographer text_italic rule--ss_l tint-text--idle\"\u003E \u003C\/div\u003E \u003C\/div\u003E \u003C\/figcaption\u003E \u003C\/figure\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp id=\"docs-internal-guid-b8c9459f-7fff-7295-95ee-2f7dede9a2cd\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThere are those now eyeing Atitl\u00e1n, where locals live on dollars a day, by its distance not from the capital, but by the half-day bus ride from El Zonte, the home of El Salvador\u2019s Bitcoin Beach \u2014 a small three-year-old community experiment for moving money outside of the banking system that became a global sensation last year after President Nayib Bukele praised the project and \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202106\/el_salvador\/25541\/How-El-Salvador-Adopted-Bitcoin-in-Five-Hours.htm\"\u003Emade bitcoin legal tender\u003C\/a\u003E in El Salvador. El Zonte has since become a holy site for crypto-evangelists around the world.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe bitcoin gospel could spread to Atitl\u00e1n. A dozen tourist businesses have begun accepting it for tips or payment, persuaded by a U.S. surgeon and Christian mission organizer and an elusive cryptoguru born in Guatemala.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe Bitcoin Apostle\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EPatrick Melder may be the only author able to say that his writing about bitcoin led someone to Christianity. A trim, gray-haired retired U.S. Army doctor, former ear, nose, and throat surgeon, and inventor of medical devices who lives near Atlanta, he first set foot in Panajachel as a missionary in 2012, when his family of five gave art workshops to the kids from the private Christian grade school Centro Educativo Josu\u00e9. They became enamored with the community and returned every summer until 2018 \u2014 the year he started studying bitcoin in earnest.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EMelder, 54, considers himself a maximalist, meaning that he does not promote the use of other cryptocurrencies. He hosts the podcast Mission Bitcoin and, last year, self-published a book, \u201cThe Christian Case for Bitcoin,\u201d the cover of which succinctly summarizes his argument: \u201cBitcoin redeems money.\u201d When Canadian-Israeli Bitcoin writer and former tech entrepreneur Tomer Strolight \u2014a self-described former \u201cmilitant atheist\u201d\u2014 stumbled upon his writing about bitcoin and Christianity last year, \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.listennotes.com\/podcasts\/mission-bitcoin\/from-militant-atheist-to-oJR4avUjBVk\/\"\u003Ehe was smitten\u003C\/a\u003E. Strolight, who hopes to soon make his first trip to Guatemala, agreed to have Melder baptize him in Lake Atitl\u00e1n.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe Atitl\u00e1n Basin is home to just under 400,000 people \u2014over 90 percent of them Indigenous\u2014 across 19 municipalities. Whereas some around the lake, like the Tzutujil town San Pablo, have insulated themselves from large amounts of foreigners, Panajachel, a predominantly Kaqchikel town, is peppered with signs in English and has two upscale hotels. Along the central artery for tourist businesses sit a Domino\u2019s Pizza and a Mormon chapel with a basketball court outside whose gated, pristine brick fa\u00e7ade jumps out from its modest surroundings.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EAt sunrise, residents bustle to and from the docks on their way to work, mostly in the tourism and fishing sectors. Daytime stores hawk embroidered and leather merchandise to backpackers and vacationers in cash quetzales, the national currency. After sunset, most businesses close, with the exception of nighttime tourist venues. After a Covid-19 hiatus, fresh visitors in recent months breathed new economic life into the town.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EMelder returned in January with the idea that businesses can appeal to a new source of income: bitcoiners. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to create a circular bitcoin economy like they did in El Zonte,\u201d he told El Faro over morning coffee at Panajachel\u2019s Porta Hotel del Lago, \u201cbut with a twist: we\u2019re using formal school training versus community training.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E \u003Cfigure class=\"pict pict_land pict_move_posc 0 cs_img cs_img--curr rule--ss_c\" data-shot=\"pict\" data-hint=\"pict\"\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"pict__pobj text-overflow\"\u003E\u003Cimg src=https:\/\/elfaro.net\/get_img?ImageWidth=3000&ImageHeight=2000&ImageId=37314 class=\"pobj\" style=\"max-width: 100%\" rel=\"resizable\" alt=\"Patrick Melder (below, black shirt) with youth from Centro Educativo Josu\u00e9 and the Antigua Guatemala-based Christian group Adventures in Missions. For now he doesn\u2019t plan on moving to Guatemala to run Bitcoin Lake. He\u2019s recruited the help of Seth Barnes (back right), CEO of Adventures in Missions, to help out in between his trips. Photo courtesy of Melder.\" \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E \u003Cfigcaption class=\"pict__text cs_img_caption folk_content typo_buttons line--ss_s0c line--ss_s0c--auto block full-width text-overflow rule--ss_l relative\"\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"__content block-inline full-width align-top tint-text--idle relative\"\u003E Patrick Melder (below, black shirt) with youth from Centro Educativo Josu\u00e9 and the Antigua Guatemala-based Christian group Adventures in Missions. For now he doesn\u2019t plan on moving to Guatemala to run Bitcoin Lake. He\u2019s recruited the help of Seth Barnes (back right), CEO of Adventures in Missions, to help out in between his trips. Photo courtesy of Melder. \u003Cdiv class=\"photographer text_italic rule--ss_l tint-text--idle\"\u003E \u003C\/div\u003E \u003C\/div\u003E \u003C\/figcaption\u003E \u003C\/figure\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp id=\"docs-internal-guid-d0a11079-7fff-4a14-9b39-09c8db067c4e\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003ELast year Centro Educativo Josu\u00e9 agreed to let him teach students about the cryptocurrency, under the promise of increasing financial freedom in the community. Melder is working with the school to develop a curriculum they hope will soon be ready to teach to kids as young as 6. He claims that Panajachelenses can develop savings and invest, reap financial rewards from mining the cryptocurrency, and even \u003Ca href=\"\/es\/202202\/el_salvador\/25983\/Primer-minero-salvadore%C3%B1o-de-bitcoin-%E2%80%9Cbuscamos-electricidad-m%C3%A1s-barata%E2%80%9D.htm\"\u003Ehasten the adoption of wind and hydroelectric energy\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThough Melder describes himself as a \u201cbleed-red Republican,\u201d he says bitcoin opened his eyes to \u201c\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/culture\/bitcoin-a-currency-of-decolonization\"\u003Emonetary colonialism\u003C\/a\u003E\u201d to the point of disgust with world powers like the United States and France. He argues that the digital currency teaches Christian ethics like personal responsibility and delayed gratification. \u201cThese truths about bitcoin are pretty similar to what we know about Jesus. I tried to keep the two separate for the longest time, but it became undeniable that they had to be merged,\u201d he says. \u201cThis could really help Christians in their walk with the Lord.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EHe notes another key difference with Bitcoin Beach: \u201cIn El Zonte they were given an endowment by an anonymous bitcoin donor to help kickstart the economy, and we don\u2019t have that,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s why bitcoin mining is so important: to make sure that not only is there an infusion of bitcoin, but that it's a sustainable source of bitcoin once this project gets going.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EHe added that he is also eyeing private fundraising for the project, that he personally has no financial stake in it, and that he has had no contact with the Guatemalan government. \u201cI barely know the political situation here in Pana,\u201d he claims. \u201cI can\u2019t imagine what the political situation is one or two levels up, so there\u2019s no need for that right now.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003ENone of Melder\u2019s bitcoin evangelism in Panajachel would be possible without his Spanish interpreter, a pensive and brainy 19-year-old college student and tech enthusiast named Josu\u00e9 De Le\u00f3n. His mother, Nancy R\u00edos, founded Centro Educativo Josu\u00e9. De Le\u00f3n grew up taking apart computers with his father and teaching himself over the internet. That\u2019s how he picked up the language \u2014 he devours global news in English and learned of bitcoin at 14.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u201cWe know how much Pana has suffered because of Covid,\u201d says De Le\u00f3n, who hopes to one day work with Panajachel youth after graduating with a degree in psychology. \u201cThis is a project not based on my generation, but on the ones coming after me,\u201d he told El Faro.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E \u003Cfigure class=\"pict pict_land pict_move_posc 0 cs_img cs_img--curr rule--ss_c\" data-shot=\"pict\" data-hint=\"pict\"\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"pict__pobj text-overflow\"\u003E\u003Cimg src=https:\/\/elfaro.net\/get_img?ImageWidth=3000&ImageHeight=2000&ImageId=37310 class=\"pobj\" style=\"max-width: 100%\" rel=\"resizable\" alt=\"Patrick Melder (below) with the founder of Centro Educativo Josu\u00e9, Nancy R\u00edos (far left), and interpreter Josu\u00e9 De Le\u00f3n (above). Melder and the private Christian grade school in Panajachel are developing a curriculum to teach grade school students of all ages about bitcoin. Photo courtesy of Melder.\" \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E \u003Cfigcaption class=\"pict__text cs_img_caption folk_content typo_buttons line--ss_s0c line--ss_s0c--auto block full-width text-overflow rule--ss_l relative\"\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"__content block-inline full-width align-top tint-text--idle relative\"\u003E Patrick Melder (below) with the founder of Centro Educativo Josu\u00e9, Nancy R\u00edos (far left), and interpreter Josu\u00e9 De Le\u00f3n (above). Melder and the private Christian grade school in Panajachel are developing a curriculum to teach grade school students of all ages about bitcoin. Photo courtesy of Melder. \u003Cdiv class=\"photographer text_italic rule--ss_l tint-text--idle\"\u003E \u003C\/div\u003E \u003C\/div\u003E \u003C\/figcaption\u003E \u003C\/figure\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EHis mother\u2019s school, founded in 2011, serves 40 children in grade school from Panajachel and neighboring communities. In pre-pandemic years, attendance was closer to 55. \u201cWe\u2019ve always had people of very few resources and from the middle class,\u201d says R\u00edos.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003ELast year, Melder and the De Le\u00f3n R\u00edos family agreed to incentivize students\u2019 cleaning of the lake and other community work in exchange for satoshis, or fractions of bitcoin. De Le\u00f3n, his mother, and his sister Flor, 22, say their yearslong relationship with Melder, hopes of making Panajachel less dependent on tourism revenues, and interest in clean energy were key factors in their decision to move forward with the dream of Bitcoin Lake.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EPerhaps Melder did not convey that multiple environmentalist organizations have denounced the high levels of e-waste from worn-out computers used on the bitcoin mining network, as well as energy consumption. Prominent bitcoiner Nic Carter estimates in the Harvard Business Review that the global bitcoin network consumes \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/hbr.org\/2021\/05\/how-much-energy-does-bitcoin-actually-consume\"\u003E110 Terawatt hours per year of electricity\u003C\/a\u003E. In 2016, \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/ourworldindata.org\/energy\/country\/guatemala\"\u003Ethe last year of public data\u003C\/a\u003E, all of Guatemala consumed 86.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe interpreter negotiated his rate with Melder, naturally, in bitcoin. In small daily bitcoin workshops with handfuls of residents held at Panajachel\u2019s Calvary Church at the end of January, Melder explained, through De Le\u00f3n, that adopters should treat bitcoin as a multi-year investment, where they can see long-term gains despite short-term volatility.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThat\u2019s how De Le\u00f3n ended up attending a series of meetings in late January between Melder and Panajachel Mayor C\u00e9sar Piedrasanta. In the first meeting participants included \u2014by Zoom\u2014 \u003Ca href=\"\/es\/202202\/el_salvador\/25983\/Primer-minero-salvadore%C3%B1o-de-bitcoin-%E2%80%9Cbuscamos-electricidad-m%C3%A1s-barata%E2%80%9D.htm\"\u003ESalvadoran-American bitcoin miner Gerson Mart\u00ednez\u003C\/a\u003E and \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Ricardo_NGV\/status\/1502808788943921153?s=20&t=1Zjyy_Ej_ImEGa357SBviw\"\u003ERicardo Carmona\u003C\/a\u003E, co-founder of Biomining, a Mexican company specialized in converting natural waste into a source of energy for bitcoin mining.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u201cLast time we held a virtual meeting with friends from abroad that mentioned how we can generate [electricity] as a municipality, for the common good of our people,\u201d Piedrasanta told El Faro during a follow-up meeting with Melder, De Le\u00f3n, a representative from human resources, and a municipal judge. \u201cWe need to see how we can apply bitcoin to catch more income,\u201d added Piedrasanta, who seems to have already converted to Melder\u2019s vision.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E \u003Cfigure class=\"pict pict_land pict_move_posc 0 cs_img cs_img--curr rule--ss_c\" data-shot=\"pict\" data-hint=\"pict\"\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"pict__pobj text-overflow\"\u003E\u003Cimg src=https:\/\/elfaro.net\/get_img?ImageWidth=3000&ImageHeight=2000&ImageId=37313 class=\"pobj\" style=\"max-width: 100%\" rel=\"resizable\" alt=\"Patrick Melder first met with Panajachel Mayor C\u00e9sar Piedrasanta on Jan. 25, 2022. They spoke of the basics of bitcoin, discussed tourism and how to convert natural waste to energy, and left the mayor with $50 dollars\u2019 worth of the cryptocurrency. Photo courtesy of Melder.\" \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E \u003Cfigcaption class=\"pict__text cs_img_caption folk_content typo_buttons line--ss_s0c line--ss_s0c--auto block full-width text-overflow rule--ss_l relative\"\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"__content block-inline full-width align-top tint-text--idle relative\"\u003E Patrick Melder first met with Panajachel Mayor C\u00e9sar Piedrasanta on Jan. 25, 2022. They spoke of the basics of bitcoin, discussed tourism and how to convert natural waste to energy, and left the mayor with $50 dollars\u2019 worth of the cryptocurrency. Photo courtesy of Melder. \u003Cdiv class=\"photographer text_italic rule--ss_l tint-text--idle\"\u003E \u003C\/div\u003E \u003C\/div\u003E \u003C\/figcaption\u003E \u003C\/figure\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EMelder and De Le\u00f3n also met with vendors and residents to explain how to install the Bitcoin Beach wallet, send and receive transactions on the Lightning Network, convert to quetzales, and set up QR codes to take payments. Most vendors in Panajachel work in the informal economy and know little-to-nothing about bitcoin. Some of them see it just as a source of tips, given that its use is mostly limited to the occasional tourist.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EArtisan Coffee GT and Sarita, a Central American ice cream chain, are two of the handful of businesses now accepting it. The first was Zaruki\u2019s Zone, a food truck run by Salvadorans using Nayib Bukele\u2019s signature Chivo Wallet.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EEnrique Gonz\u00e1lez, who sells artisanal textile and leather products at his shop Kique Craft, moved to Panajachel 10 years ago from Chichicastenango, a town outside the capital, in search of the much larger lakeside tourist economy. When the coronavirus pandemic hit, he kept his business afloat by selling embroidered masks. At the end of last year, as the pandemic-induced downturn dragged on, a post from Bitcoin Lake on Facebook piqued his interest.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u201cI\u2019m looking for a source of income, a new strategy,\u201d he told El Faro. After attending a workshop organized by Melder and downloading the Bitcoin Beach wallet, he found conflicting accounts online. \u201cMany say that it can crash, that there\u2019s a risk. Others say that it\u2019s safe,\u201d he says of the cryptocurrency\u2019s value. Melder and De Le\u00f3n helped him connect a QR code to his wallet.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u201cAll I want now is to be able to transfer it, because I can sell a product but can\u2019t see the money physically in quetzales,\u201d Gonz\u00e1lez told El Faro. A month later, with lingering doubts, his shop had received seven tips from tourists totaling 10 U.S. dollars.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E \u003Cfigure class=\"pict pict_land pict_move_posc 0 cs_img cs_img--curr rule--ss_c\" data-shot=\"pict\" data-hint=\"pict\"\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"pict__pobj text-overflow\"\u003E\u003Cimg src=https:\/\/elfaro.net\/get_img?ImageWidth=3000&ImageHeight=2000&ImageId=37311 class=\"pobj\" style=\"max-width: 100%\" rel=\"resizable\" alt=\"Artisan Enrique Gonz\u00e1lez learned to work leather form his father and now sells to tourists at his shop in Panajachel. Two years of the pandemic hit his business hard, and he's now looking for new sources of revenue. Bitcoin Lake founder Patrick Melder convinced him to install a QR code in his store to take tips in bitcoin, though he hasn't yet dared to take full payments. Photo: Roman Gressier\/El Faro\" \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E \u003Cfigcaption class=\"pict__text cs_img_caption folk_content typo_buttons line--ss_s0c line--ss_s0c--auto block full-width text-overflow rule--ss_l relative\"\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"__content block-inline full-width align-top tint-text--idle relative\"\u003E Artisan Enrique Gonz\u00e1lez learned to work leather form his father and now sells to tourists at his shop in Panajachel. Two years of the pandemic hit his business hard, and he's now looking for new sources of revenue. Bitcoin Lake founder Patrick Melder convinced him to install a QR code in his store to take tips in bitcoin, though he hasn't yet dared to take full payments. Photo: Roman Gressier\/El Faro \u003Cdiv class=\"photographer text_italic rule--ss_l tint-text--idle\"\u003E \u003C\/div\u003E \u003C\/div\u003E \u003C\/figcaption\u003E \u003C\/figure\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe De Le\u00f3n R\u00edos family understands others\u2019 wariness of lofty promises from outsiders. \u201cWe\u2019ve been scammed many times before, so people are distrustful,\u201d says R\u00edos, the founder of Centro Educativo Josu\u00e9. Even she had heard little about bitcoin before Melder reappeared in their lives. \u201cThere are many projects here, and people get used to them, but when something goes wrong or the project closes, they\u2019ve already developed a dependency,\u201d she says. \u201cWe like to be self-sustainable.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESo Close, Yet So Far\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EBitcoin Beach co-founder Mike Peterson told El Faro that the Salvadoran project has no formal ties to any bitcoin initiatives in Atitl\u00e1n, \u201cbut we are sharing what we have learned with a number of projects and are looking to help them anyway we can.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EUnlike in El Salvador, where the September 2021 Bitcoin Law created a government exchange to shield transactions from bitcoin price fluctuations between the time of transaction and cash-out, in Guatemala there is no such framework. When asked if Atitl\u00e1n communities should follow El Salvador\u2019s lead and use bitcoin anyway, Melder said: \u201cI don\u2019t have any comment on the regulatory environment. I think people are smart enough to figure out if they want to use it or not.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EGuatemala\u2019s central bank \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/sib_guatemala\/status\/1362875453585821697\/photo\/1\"\u003Ewrote\u003C\/a\u003E in February 2021 that \u201cthe Quetzal,\u201d named after the country\u2019s tropical, multicolored national bird, \u201cis Guatemala\u2019s monetary unit and the Bank of Guatemala is the sole issuer of bills and money.\u201d The bank added that \u201cvirtual currencies are not backed by the Guatemalan state,\u201d in part because of \u201cnon-compliance with security and risk management standards.\u201d In a January email to El Faro, the Central Bank\u2019s Monetary Board doubled down on its stance, adding that it is unaware of internal studies, bills, or draft regulations about crypto.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe quetzal is one of the stablest currencies in the hemisphere, and has never had a spiraling Argentina-style inflation crisis. Until 1987, amid the country\u2019s internal armed conflict, its value was pegged one-to-one with the U.S. dollar. The central bank has since devalued the currency to just under eight quetzales per dollar.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EFor now, bitcoin is less than a whisper in the ear of most residents around Lake Atitl\u00e1n. Adoption is thus far limited to individual enthusiasts in contact with the two projects and the businesses they have converted in at least three Kaqchikel towns around the lake: Panajachel, San Marcos, and Tzunun\u00e1.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThat could change this year as deep-pocketed bitcoiners begin eyeballing new patches of Central America. Another similar project has sprouted in Costa Rica. Influencer Stacy Herbert \u2014who in January announced that she and her husband and former co-presenter on Russia Today, Max Keiser, will seek citizenship in El Salvador\u2014 called Atitl\u00e1n \u201c\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/stacyherbert\/status\/1477473225751678981\"\u003Ethe next place to hyperbitcoinize\u003C\/a\u003E.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EAside from the issue of regulation, the success of that new gospel around the lake could hinge on another unsettled question: how its evangelists will be received by Indigenous authorities opposed to privatization and land speculation and suspicious of exploitation projects that tend to come from abroad. In January, Panajachel\u2019s Kaqchikel council of elders \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Harris1323\/photos\/pcb.3360805530861037\/3360804874194436\"\u003Esent a letter\u003C\/a\u003E to Mayor Piedrasanta condemning the central government\u2019s usurpation and rental of ancestral land, and demanding that he stop granting building permits along the beach.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u201cThe public beaches historically belong to the municipality,\u201d the elders wrote, adding: \u201cAs Indigenous peoples we ask for respect for our ancestral forms of organization.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E \u003Cfigure class=\"pict pict_land pict_move_posc 0 cs_img cs_img--curr rule--ss_c\" data-shot=\"pict\" data-hint=\"pict\"\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"pict__pobj text-overflow\"\u003E\u003Cimg src=https:\/\/elfaro.net\/get_img?ImageWidth=3000&ImageHeight=2000&ImageId=37309 class=\"pobj\" style=\"max-width: 100%\" rel=\"resizable\" alt=\"The Council of Elders Riajaw Tinamit Panajachel signed an open letter in January to Mayor C\u00e9sar Piedrasanta demanding an end to construction projects on their ancestral lands, especially along the beaches. The Los Salpores Jucany\u00e1 Beach Committee and the Communal Commission for Women co-signed. Photo: Facebook page \"Pana Like\"\" \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E \u003Cfigcaption class=\"pict__text cs_img_caption folk_content typo_buttons line--ss_s0c line--ss_s0c--auto block full-width text-overflow rule--ss_l relative\"\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"__content block-inline full-width align-top tint-text--idle relative\"\u003E The Council of Elders Riajaw Tinamit Panajachel signed an open letter in January to Mayor C\u00e9sar Piedrasanta demanding an end to construction projects on their ancestral lands, especially along the beaches. The Los Salpores Jucany\u00e1 Beach Committee and the Communal Commission for Women co-signed. Photo: Facebook page \"Pana Like\" \u003Cdiv class=\"photographer text_italic rule--ss_l tint-text--idle\"\u003E \u003C\/div\u003E \u003C\/div\u003E \u003C\/figcaption\u003E \u003C\/figure\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EMelder thinks government land expropriation can be a winning issue for bitcoin. He argues that one of the main up-sides to blockchain is the ability to \u201ccodify property rights in an immutable way.\"\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u201cI\u2019m not coming in here with a messiah complex. My primary goal is to provide an educational and technological opportunity for the children so that they can be exposed to bitcoin,\u201d he said. \u201cIf that\u2019s all we ever did, that\u2019s fine.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe Other Bitcoin Lake\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EMelder is not the first crypto-entrepreneur to plant a flag in Atitl\u00e1n. Across the lake, most easily accessible by a half-hour ride in a crowded motorboat, is another cryptocurrency project in San Marcos La Laguna that predates his by over a year. The project, initially called Crypto Atitl\u00e1n, is starting to bear fruit of its own: \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/cryptoatitlan.notion.site\/Bitcoin-Businesses-in-Lake-Atitlan-3647811ab7a446fbbb9744aa801c5c3c\"\u003Eat least six\u003C\/a\u003E tourist-oriented businesses in the town and neighboring Tzunun\u00e1 have begun accepting it since November.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe founder is a Guatemalan-American cryptocurrency consultant and industrial engineer who goes by Rishi Bond. In conversations switching seamlessly between Spanish and English over Telegram, he told El Faro that he\u2019s 38, born and raised in Guatemala, and got his MBA from a joint program between Tulane University and his native country\u2019s bastion of libertarianism, Francisco Marroqu\u00edn University.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EHe says that he moved to San Marcos in 2020 to start a series of workshops a year and a half ago called \u201cCrypto and Cacao,\u201d and has cultivated a community of crypto traders and enthusiasts over the same app. He says there are now 465 members, 95 percent of which primarily speak English. The group occasionally holds workshops in Spanish.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u201cThe objective of Crypto Atitl\u00e1n is to open a formal NGO to receive donations from inside and outside Guatemala solely in bitcoin, to finance social programs here in Atitl\u00e1n,\u201d Bond told El Faro. Solely accepting bitcoin would be a radical turn for his community \u2014 unlike Melder, he says they are interested in other cryptos. By March, Bond had begun solely referring to the project as Bitcoin Lake. He told El Faro over email that they plan to officially launch in early April \u2014 right in time for the Bitcoin 2022 Conference in Miami.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EBond says the programs will likely teach English, carpentry, or computer science, and provide electronic equipment. \u201cHaving a network of bitcoin millionaires, we\u2019re going to go to the community and do an economic study where we ask what they\u2019re interested in learning, gain participation from the municipality, and from there form different programs,\u201d he says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E \u003Cfigure class=\"pict pict_land pict_move_posc 0 cs_img cs_img--curr rule--ss_c\" data-shot=\"pict\" data-hint=\"pict\"\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"pict__pobj text-overflow\"\u003E\u003Cimg src=https:\/\/elfaro.net\/get_img?ImageWidth=3000&ImageHeight=1824&ImageId=37312 class=\"pobj\" style=\"max-width: 100%\" rel=\"resizable\" alt=\"When popular British podcaster and El Salvador bitcoin promoter Peter McCormack (center, beige hat) visited Atitl\u00e1n in May 2021, Crypto Atitl\u00e1n founder Rishi Bond (bottom) says he became convinced of the importance of getting local businesses to start using bitcoin on the Lightning Network. Gathering at Bambu Guest House in Tzunun\u00e1, Solol\u00e1. Photo: McCormack Twitter account.\" \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E \u003Cfigcaption class=\"pict__text cs_img_caption folk_content typo_buttons line--ss_s0c line--ss_s0c--auto block full-width text-overflow rule--ss_l relative\"\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"__content block-inline full-width align-top tint-text--idle relative\"\u003E When popular British podcaster and El Salvador bitcoin promoter Peter McCormack (center, beige hat) visited Atitl\u00e1n in May 2021, Crypto Atitl\u00e1n founder Rishi Bond (bottom) says he became convinced of the importance of getting local businesses to start using bitcoin on the Lightning Network. Gathering at Bambu Guest House in Tzunun\u00e1, Solol\u00e1. Photo: McCormack Twitter account. \u003Cdiv class=\"photographer text_italic rule--ss_l tint-text--idle\"\u003E \u003C\/div\u003E \u003C\/div\u003E \u003C\/figcaption\u003E \u003C\/figure\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003ESan Marcos has a nickname around the lake: \u201cGringotenango.\u201d Poster boards are covered with ads \u2014few, if any of them, from Indigenous lake communities\u2014 hawking workshops of all sorts. Unlike Bond\u2019s workshops \u2014which, he says, are free\u2014 the rates for other events, including yoga, alternative medicine, sound healing, self-help, and entrepreneurship, range from 50 quetzales (about 6.50 USD) to several hundred.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EAttending a workshop at even the low price point is out of reach for many locals. The motorboats around the lake charge locals a discounted rate from San Marcos to Panajachel 20 quetzales instead of the full rate of 25 ($3.25 USD), one ticket seller explained, because otherwise many of the laborers making multiple trips a day would miss a meal.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThen there are the cacao drinking rituals, another staple of San Marcos tourism. Various places hold ceremonies supposedly inspired by Mayan tradition, and it\u2019s not uncommon for participants to report trances, and intense spiritual experiences \u2014 despite the bean and former Mesoamerican currency\u2019s lack of psychedelic properties.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EOne popular site for workshops of all sorts is a private tourist playpad known to visitors as Eagle\u2019s Nest, wedged in a hill in San Marcos La Laguna. Kaqchikel locals call the hill Tz\u2019un Ucuy \u2014 or, in English, \u201ctip of the nose of the chipil\u00edn branch.\u201d Tz\u2019un Ucuy sits at the end of 600 steep meters of winding cobblestone and dirt paths cutting through Barrio 2 of San Marcos, a community of cinder block homes with tin roofs. There\u2019s no supermarket in San Marcos, but along this uphill path alone sit two Evangelical churches.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EEagle\u2019s Nest, a facility of chalets with lodging, yoga room, massage studio, and matted lounge with a breathtaking view of the lake, began accepting bitcoin late last year. A sign in the restaurant, staffed by Kaqchikel women from Barrio 2, reads, in English: \u201cThe Embassy of India in Guatemala conveys its appreciation to Eagle\u2019s Nest Atitl\u00e1n in recognition of its contribution at the 7th International Day of Yoga held in Atitl\u00e1n, Guatemala, June 2021.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EOthers in San Marcos, clustered near a path to the docks nicknamed \u2018Hippie Highway,\u2019 have done the same. Lush Atitl\u00e1n \u2014a luxury hotel feet away from the lake where a night\u2019s stay starts at $50 dollars, or some 400 quetzales\u2014 is one of them. \u201cSan Marcos is a very experimental community,\u201d the hotel wrote in an email to El Faro, in Spanish with traces of Portuguese. \u201cWe hope to access a market that doesn\u2019t want to use normal currencies nor pass through banks.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003ELush, which began accepting it as payment on Jan. 28 using the digital wallet Muun, hosted an English-language workshop that day held by the group, called \u201cHow to Keep Your Crypto Safe.\u201d Three-dozen people attended the sermon in which discussion bounced from cryptocurrencies to CIA brainwashing, social engineering, and Swiss psychologist Carl Jung\u2019s philosophy of religion.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EBond and Melder, who have apparently agreed to operate under the same name, agreed to meet. \u201cI have my version of Bitcoin Lake and Patrick has his,\u201d said Bond. \u201cI hope to join forces.\"\u003C\/p\u003E"}