El Salvador school program hits 1 BTC in donations

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There is a beacon of light in the bear market tunnel. El Salvador’s non-profit program “My First Bitcoin” (Mi Primer Bitcoin) raised over 1 Bitcoin (BTC) in donations from generous Bitcoin education advocates around the world, not from venture capitalists or investors.

Donations flooded in from Venezuelans, Poles and Canadians, and hundreds of people around the world sent Satoshi (Bit part of the coin).

Hooray! Crowdfunded 1 BTC @geyserfund in April

matching donations from @bitcoin beach Top us off last night–what a great way to end the month 🙂

A big thank you to the over 250 donors who brought us here

This is a movement we all participate in and education is how we win

— Mi Primer Bitcoin (@MyfirstBitcoin_) May 1, 2023

Cointelegraph wrote to John Dennehy, founder of the My First Bitcoin program, to understand how the crowdfunding campaign reached 1 BTC in less than three weeks. “Bitcoin’s greatest potential is to empower individuals, and making it easy to donate value is a big part of that,” Dennehy told Cointelegraph.

“Bitcoin crowdfunding is revolutionary compared to existing fiat currency systems that limit participation because anyone can participate. It’s a way to level the playing field.”

In contrast to Paypal and GoFundMe, Bitcoin’s censorship-resistant and self-sovereign properties make it one of the most efficient ways to send money online. Plus, it’s a lot cheaper. Transfers are made over the Layer 2 Lightning Network and cost a fraction of the cost of traditional payment services. Dennehy explains:

“Bitcoin crowdfunding is an example of how Bitcoin gives people control over their money.”

The crowdfunding campaign was boosted by the efforts of Bitcoin Beach, a Bitcoin circulating community in El Zonte on the Pacific coast of El Salvador. Bitcoin Beach was the spark that inspired Bitcoin to be declared legal tender in El Salvador in his 2021. On April 27th, Bitcoin Beach announced that it would match all donations to the project until midnight on April 27th.

To those who are waiting for donations #bitcoin $60,000 back You can effectively do that for the next hour—-the next hour, we’ll make your donation@MyfirstBitcoin_Geyser that doubles the power you give https://t.co/F4w29zXNYQ

— Bitcoin Beach (@Bitcoinbeach) April 27, 2023

But the campaign started with a very fast level of generosity. Geyser founder Metamick told Cointelegraph: Incredible traction in just one day! And this is Geyser, he adds, one day later he is also the third largest crowdfunding.

Related: El Salvador’s ‘My First Bitcoin’: How to Teach the Public About Cryptocurrencies

In fact, in April, Bitcoin crowdfunding platform Geyser hit a new record with over 2 BTC donated.

Overall, the Bitcoin community continues to build and educate, despite the fact that the price of Bitcoin will drop and wipe out traders. Dennehy summarizes:

“We are inspired every day by the support from the Bitcoin community. Without it, we wouldn’t be able to do what we do.”

To date, My First Bitcoin has educated 6,000 students in El Salvador. Cointelegraph attended the 2nd Graduation Ceremony in San Marcos in November 2021.

magazine: What it’s like to actually use Bitcoin in El Salvador