Thread by @Bart_Mol

I’m in San Salvador on #bitcoin day. Starting this thread to keep you posted.

My feeling as of this moment: we are witnessing history.

First thing: obtain the #bitcoin newspaper. We have the feeling that more bitcoiners had this idea.

At the protests now, around 150 people at the square protesting against #Bitcoin

Talked to one of the organizers. The protest is not only against bitcoin, but also against the regime. He told me that “the law is implemented to fast and nobody needs it”. Anti bitcoin graffiti is sprayed on the street.

More people are joining now. Seems that there is a different protest and the group will start some kind of march to the big square. #BitcoinDay

They are marching to the square now. More groups joined.

I wouldn’t say it is the biggest protest that I’ve ever seen, but it is not insignificant either. Really loud fireworks are being thrown around.

Still marching on.

Government sending drones out the keep an eye on the crowd. Things could get tense, they said.

March ended at the “Palacio Legislativo”. We will go back to the center to check out the other side. Goal of the day: make a payment with my own Lightning node.

Dropped into a coffee store. They had the Chivo ATM in the middle of the store. It was not working. The owner told us that there were some problems with the app and the ATM. Mostly connectivity issues with other wallets.

In the meantime: got hold of this souvenir. This will definitely get a nice spot in the podcast studio.

The owner of the coffee shop was only accepting on chain transactions. We showed him @MuunWallet and now he is accepting Lightning aswel. This is the power of #Bitcoin.

People getting onboarded at one of the many @chivowallet stalls in the city. A lot of Chivo officials here to help interested Salvadorans.

Tried the ATM, but it is out of coins lol

We found an ATM that “works”. We found out the hard way that it only works with the Chivo app. NO LIGHTNING SUPPORT. That was a disappointment. KYC required, but only a phone number. Information on selling BTC in next tweet.

I sold $20 of #Bitcoin. I paid no conversion fees, only network fees. Got a receipt, the money should come out of the ATM after one block confirmation. Pretty sure that time has passed, didn’t receive anything. Basically funded one Salvadorans airdrop.

@st4rnold bought $20 of #Bitcoin. He also did not pay any conversion fees. He used @ZeusLN to receive the bitcoin. He didn’t received his bitcoin as of yet.

The people however are very nice and helpful. They told us that since it is the first day the application and ATM has some difficulties. We will just wait for a bit, the weather is great anyway. We also got a sneak peek at the $30 airdrop in the @chivowallet app.

Update: @st4rnold received his $20 of #Bitcoin. It looks like Chivo deducted the on chain fees from his buy.

We saw screenshots on Twitter showing Lightning functionality in the @chivowallet. We tried the app ourself and we could not generate the Lightning invoice. The staff never heard of the Lightning network.

In the meanwhile, this legend @st4rnold is ranting about the missing Lightning Network functionality on national television😂😂

We saw this old man reading the newspaper and we asked him what he thought. He told us that “people need to learn and understand” about bitcoin. PS: he didn’t want to sell his newspaper to us.

No stickers allowed.

WE DID IT!!! We used Lightning at @pizzahut. Fully non custodial, using our own node back in the Netherlands. Costs? 26 sats.

This is so dope.

And again! This time paying for my Big Mac with the one and only @RadioSatoshi Lightning node. Took some time to figure out the @OpenNodeCo configuration, but after that the payment went through as if I was next to my @getumbrel in the Netherlands. Big up to @ZeusLN aswel.

More details: the solution was clearly still in development UX wise. They make use of @OpenNodeCo, which shows a QR that you need to scan with your camera app. This takes you to the actual website with the invoice. After that it is smooth sailing, just lay with your LN wallet.

Recap:

I paid for my $5 Big Mac, using my @getumbrel node that is 9.500 km away, connecting with @ZeusLN, paying 6 sats transaction fee.

6 sats. $0,003. Let that sink in.

Like @jackmallers always says: “You can’t compete with open source”

Your turn @Mastercard & @Visa

Apparently there is Lightning functionality in the @chivowallet. If we have the chance we will try that out. Thanks for the information!

Third time’s a charm! Paid for a cold brew at @Starbucks. Guys this is the future. Hyped af right now.

Meanwhile in El Zonte. These guys are doing some amazing work.

Arrived at the #Bitcoin meetup in San Salvador. Time for a beer! Next stop: bitcoin day party in El Zonte.

Will my 10.000 sats Big Mac become a second 10.000 #bitcoin pizza?

I don’t know, and honestly I don’t care.

Being part of history is priceless.

I got a lot of questions about the newspaper. We managed to grab a few in the morning, but they were basically sold out everywhere. Would love to send you all a copy, but I will probably auction them and send the sats to a good cause in El Salvador. More info to follow.

Made it back safely to El Zonte. Closing this thread. Thanks all for the amazing support. It truly was a historical day. Godspeed.