The truth about traveling the world using BTC

As Bitcoin (BTC) continues to grow in popularity, it is being adopted in various fields, including as a form of investment and payment.

Proponents of the cryptocurrency believe that to become widely accepted, Bitcoin must continue to find more use cases as individuals and entities establish new ways to use the asset.

A fascinating example of Bitcoin’s use comes from Paco de la India, a traveler who has embarked on a journey to see the world using only Bitcoin. In a recent interview with crypto e-commerce platform Bitrefill, Paco discussed the realities of global Bitcoin adoption, his memorable experiences and the way forward for the widespread acceptance of the digital currency.

It’s worth noting that Paco’s travels around the world have been made possible by community crowdfunding. At the time of the interview, Paco had already traveled to 40 countries across South America, North America and Africa. Here are notable insights from his travels:

#1 Bitcoin adoption and volatility

Paco’s experiences highlighted the challenges facing Bitcoin adoption in the countries he has visited. He painted a rather bleak picture, noting that the market’s inherent volatility has made people hesitant to trust Bitcoin.

Instead, he observed that stablecoins like USDT are more popular among locals, who prefer to HODL their Bitcoin rather than use it for daily transactions. In this case, it became challenging for him to use Bitcoin in selected areas.

“Bitcoin didn’t provide that stability to a lot of people under what I saw. <…> There is more use of stablecoin called USDT; people are more happy to use USDT instead of using Bitcoin. <...> They’re more about HODLers,” he added.

Overall, he pointed out that adoption is happening gradually, but there is a need for accelerated efforts.

#2 Generosity in the bull market

According to Paco, people are generally generous during the bull market, which made it easier for him to receive donations. However, things got more difficult during the bear market, which led to reduced contributions. Notably, the traveling journey began while Bitcoin was trading around $50,000 and reached an all-time high of nearly $69,000.

“Bullmarkt people are really generous. The Bitcoin price when I started was almost $50,000 and it went up to around $65,000. Things came in; everyone was very happy that life was going well, but slowly and gradually it began to trickle down. The company started backing out, people started walking out. <...> I wasn’t able to go that freely, that’s why I was always looking for people to host me in their houses and it also gave me an insight into what local people are like,” he said.

#3 Regulatory influence

Interestingly, he cited that his trip was interrupted by the regulatory uncertainty affecting some of his sponsors.

In particular, he pointed out that the shutdown of the peer-to-peer trading platform Paxful affected him. It’s worth noting that Paxful services have since been restored.

Looking ahead, Paco noted that he intends to continue his mission while helping to set up new Bitcoin communities. He pointed out that educating people is at the heart of promoting Bitcoin adoption, especially with regard to using the virgin crypto in daily transactions.

Watch the full interview below: