El Zonte, in El Salvador, where the “bitcoon beach” was located, was considered to be the representative site for the Bitcoin payment experiment in that country. The latest public information shows that local business households have seen a marked decline in their collection activity in bitcoin, a change that is also largely consistent with the national survey.
El Zonte business says it's only a receipt for the month.
On 23 August, the Bitcoin core contributor, Jon Atack, stated that after he paid his lunch in bitcoin at a restaurant in El Zonte, the shopkeeper told him that it was the first bitcoin payment he received in the month.
Atack currently lives in El Salvador. At the same time, he emphasizes that this is only a single business case and cannot directly represent El Zonte or the overall national payments.
According to his description, the restaurant employee claimed that in the past it had been more common to pay in bitcoin, but that it was now almost invisible and that most customers had switched to bank cards. The shopkeeper also indicated that he had forgotten how to use a bitcoin wallet application and therefore did not accept a tip to pay for his hearing.
The national survey shows that consumption rates have fallen over the years.
Despite the limited number of single-business samples, polls in El Salvador in recent years have also shown that the use of bitcoin in daily consumption has continued to decline.
- In 2021, 25.7% of respondents reported having consumed bitcoin
- In 2022, this percentage fell to 21%
- In 2023, further down to 12 per cent
- In 2024, only 8.1% of respondents indicated having used bitcoin to buy or pay
The above data were taken from a survey conducted by the University of Central America in El Salvador, with a sample of 1266 persons. Another survey published by Francisco Gavidia University was also close to: 92 per cent of respondents stated that they did not use bitcoin in 2024 and only 7.5 per cent said they did.
These surveys reflect self-reported use by residents rather than real business transactions, but have a wider coverage than the single restaurant case, and indicate that bitcoin payments are not new.
One possible reason mentioned in the report was that holders preferred to retain bitcoin rather than spend it on a day-to-day basis. If users expect prices to continue to rise, they may prefer to consume in United States dollars or bank cards. Price fluctuations and wallet operating thresholds may also affect the willingness to pay.
Commercial acceptance of bitcoin changed to voluntary
El Salvador established bitcoin as a legal currency in September 2021. Under the initial arrangement, technically qualified businesses were in principle required to accept bitcoin, while the Government provided United States dollar exchange support through the Chivo wallet and related trust mechanism.
However, prior to obtaining an IMF financing arrangement in February 2025 for 40 months totalling $1.4 billion, El Salvador had revised its policies. The IMF document shows whether the reformed private sector accepts the conversion of bitcoin to a voluntary one, and taxes are paid in United States dollars.
The document also shows that the Government no longer has a compulsory exchange obligation between Bitcoin and the United States dollar. This means that if there is insufficient customer demand or high operating costs, the business can stop providing bitcoin payment services.
In an update in December 2025, the IMF also mentioned that negotiations between the Government of El Salvador for the sale of its shares in the Chivo wallet had progressed but had not confirmed whether the transaction had been completed.
Change in government holdout does not amount to retail payments Come back. litres
At the same time, the wallet addresses publicly tracked by the Government of El Salvador continue to show, from time to time, changes in the stocks of bitcoin. However, these changes in the chain do not provide a direct indication that the use of daily payments by residents is rising.
Data from the previous chain showed that El Salvador had added 240 BTCs to its agreement with the IMF. Subsequently, the IMF document stated that after the approval of the project, the public sector did not voluntarily continue to hold bitcoin and the overall hold was unchanged.
This means that the increase in the balance of part of the address seen from the outside may be an internal transfer between government controlled addresses rather than a new purchase.
At present, the latest version of El Zonte business is consistent with the trend shown by the national survey: the heat of the retail payment of Bitcoin in El Salvador is decreasing. However, more business-house data and new national surveys are needed to judge whether local payments have further contracted.