Bitcoin Use in Guatemala Can Earn Free Tattoos

Illustration of Bitcoin tattoo in Guatemala. (photo: dock. irkki)

JAKARTA - The use of Bitcoin in Guatemala continues to increase. The Latin American country bordering El Salvador started offering Guatemala-grown Bitcoin companies like Ibex and Osmo, several Bitcoin Beach-inspired projects including Bitcoin Lake and now, free BTC tattoos.

The 2022 Bitcoin merchant adoption competition hosted by Osmo Wallet, a Guatemala-based Bitcoin company, has resulted in a promotion of free tattoos. Cointelegraph interviewed Piero Coen, co-founder of Osmo Wallet and Steven Marroquin, owner of Soul's Anchor, a tattoo parlor in Guatemala City.

Coen explains how his mission is to get more people to use Bitcoin.

“So we held a competition among merchants to see who would process the most volume of Bitcoin sales in 2022. It turned out that Soul's Anchor Tattoo Shop in Guatemala City, which started accepting Bitcoin payments using Osmobusiness in October, won the competition,” said Coen. , quoted by Cointelegraph.

Merchant adoption is nothing new in Guatemala. They think about how to make things more interesting. They decided that offering customers free Bitcoin tattoos might be a Bitcoin-friendly marketing ploy. “It was a huge success. All slots filled in hours!” said Coen.

Guatemalan Bitcoin devotees and Bitcoin tourists flock to shops to stick their favorite Bitcoin memes, quotes, or artwork onto their skins. “It's been about seven months since we officially accepted Bitcoin and have two to three customers per month,” said Marroquin, owner of Souls Anchor. He explained the amount was small, but the payments kept increasing.

“The first months we only had one customer, and even though that was still a few percent of our revenue, maybe 1%, we are happy to have started taking it,” says Marroquin.

Coen also explained that “it is still very early days” for Bitcoin adoption in Guatemala and that “most business owners are still hesitant to accept and retain Bitcoin due to its volatility.”

By allowing instant Bitcoins to convert to fiat currency in payment merchant terminals, merchants can avoid volatility. Converting BTC to fiat instantly is a growing trend in the Bitcoin payments space, as companies like Strike — led by Jack Mallers — and CoinCorner offer similar solutions. Bitcoin as a means of exchange is growing and Coen is optimistic about its future.

“Bitcoin adoption in Guatemala City is on the rise, every day we see more and more people getting into it, learning about it, and piling on Sats,” said Coen.

Rikki, half of a Bitcoin Explorers couple who spent 45 days living off of Bitcoins alone in El Salvador, recently traveled around Guatemala, paying for his groceries and groceries in Bitcoins. Rikki told Cointelegraph the adoption rate of Bitcoin in Guatemala is absolutely staggering, referring to himself and his partner Laura.

“Locals are curious, they want to learn about Bitcoin and see it as an important alternative to credit cards which are very high fees in this country,” he said.

Indeed, by accepting Bitcoin, businesses can save more than 50% on transaction fees when compared to credit card payments. "So there is an incentive," Coen added.

Rikki added that "orange-pilling" efforts by Guatemala-based companies, such as Ibex and Osmo, are "pushing to increase awareness of the technology." The couple also visited Bitcoin Lake, a Bitcoin-beach-style community project, where a Guatemalan mayor mines Bitcoins in his office, before signing themselves up as part of the promotion.

“We found the tattoo idea really cute. This is a company that wants to reward its shopkeepers who have received the most Bitcoin transactions by promoting their business,” he added.

Bitcoin and crypto tattoos are becoming more and more common as crypto proponents brand themselves with the coin of their choice. However, crypto tattoos can sometimes go very, very wrong.

Take Mike Novogratz, founder of Galaxy Digital, for example. Her Terra LUNA tattoo is a reminder that investing requires humility. The LUNA token fell more than 99% in 2021. Fortunately, Bitcoin tattoos are safe for now, thanks to the price pump that occurred in January.