Central Bankers from 44 countries were seen testing Bitcoin Lightning wallets. Official delegates from around the world traveled to El Salvador, the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender, in May to discuss financial inclusion, digital economy, banking the unbanked, Bitcoin adoption, and its benefits for the nation.
The meeting of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion was a three-day agenda focused on Bitcoin education, Lightning payment experiences, and testimony from residents of Bitcoin Beach in El Zonte, a beach town in El Salvador.
Bitcoin Beach, a project that aims to create a sustainable Bitcoin Economic ecosystem on the coast of El Salvador, revealed via a Twitter post that the representatives from these central banks lined up to get help downloading and using the Bitcoin Beach Lightning wallet.
Additionally, the 44 central banks present in El Salvador represented Egypt, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Sao Tome, Pakistan, Nepal, Kenya, Paraguay, Angola, Ghana, Namibia, Uganda, Guinea, Madagascar, Haiti, Burundi, Eswatini, Jordan, Gambia, Maldives, Rwanda, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Bangladesh, Liberia, and many others.
It seems that the Lightning Network has attracted the attention of many recently, including American financial services company Robinhood and an early Bitcoin payments provider BitPay. These platforms will now allow their users to buy, sell, and transfer bitcoin using the Lightning Network.
In a blog post titled “The central bankers were definitely not coming to El Salvador to discuss Bitcoin,” by Galoy, the firm that developed the Bitcoin Beach platform, the firm boasted several images wherein the members of the central banks around the world learned to use Bitcoin and Lightning Network.
The three days of the meeting were hosted at the Sheraton Presidente Hotel in San Salvador, where attendees were shown how to download and use a Lightning wallet. The attendees of the event paid for coconuts and coffee with satoshis (the smallest unit of BTC) over the Lightning Network. Furthermore, they also learned how to exchange BTC for USD at an ATM and pay a Strike invoice with Bitcoin Beach Wallet. El Salvador, under the leadership of President Nayib Bukele, has been doubling down on its bet on Bitcoin. As the data tracked by Bloomberg, the nation’s total reserve is up to 2,301 bitcoin, which, as of 10:48 am ET, stands at a value of $52 million. The last purchase of BTC by the nation amounted to 500 BTC on May 10 at an average price of $30,744, which is now worth nearly $11 million at current prices.
