Bitcoin is in the Central American country a reflection of optimism and freedom in uncertain times.
The digital currency empowers communities, offering alternatives to the Costa Rican population.
The expression “Pura Vida”, probably the most used by Costa Ricans, is increasingly being linked to bitcoin (BTC). This is stated by Estela Aguilar, a member of Bitcoin Jungle, a community or circular economy that is based on this digital currency and that is expanding in the province of Puntarenas, in the western part of the country.
The phrase “Pura Vida” is so deeply rooted in local culture that last year it was included, for the first time, in the global dictionary of Spanish compiled by the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) in Madrid.
In itself, the expression is used to describe a nice person or to classify something as good, but it is also a feeling of optimism and an exceptionally positive outlook on life.
However, in Costa Rica there are not always reasons to maintain such an optimistic attitude, especially in the case of vulnerable groups, who require inclusive policies from the government, which have been absent over time.
“Honestly, life in Costa Rica is not Pura Vida and it is not like that for working women, nor for producers, nor for educators or farmers in general. “I am a producer, a mother of six children, alone, the daughter of producers, but I have never seen any help from the State.”
Estela Aguilar, founder of the bitcoin farmers market.
Bitcoin is synonymous with freedom and Pura Vida in Costa Rica
The reasons before exhibited by Aguilar, They are bringing the inhabitants of Costa Rica closer to bitcoin. “It happens because bitcoin is freedom, since governments print, print and print money, while the digital currency is different because its supply is limited to 21 million,” says Kevin Barquero of the Bitcoin movement in Costa Rica.
It also happens “due to the abuse of banks and the use that cooperatives make [financieras] with our money. So after going through different alternatives that scam us, I realized that bitcoin is the currency that I use and no one touches itnor does anyone multiply it for me,” Aguilar said. For her, as well as many Costa Ricans living in Puntarenas, Bitcoin is the tool with which they are achieving true financial freedom.
Now, the presence of bitcoin in each ecofair held in the region is reflection of the work that the Bitcoin Jungle team has been doinga citadel that has been growing as awareness is raised about what the digital currency created by Satoshi Nakamoto is.
In turn, Bitcoin Jungle is receiving financial support to expand its educational efforts in Costa Rica. It is a joint effort to combat poverty, something necessary to achieve the project’s objectives. As the Bitcoin Jungle team notes on their website: “we are building a shining example of what a Bitcoin community can mean.”
The vision of this community is that financial education is essential to empower communitiesespecially the most vulnerable. This, with greater emphasis in a context in which traditional policies have failed to offer the necessary support.
So, in these spaces, where Bitcoin is changing ways of seeing the world, the phrase “Pura Vida” not only evokes a positive feeling, but also reflects a new era of financial freedom that promotes solidarity among citizens. Along this path, education about the pioneering digital currency emerges as the fundamental pillar that will allow communities to face the challenges of the future with greater confidence and optimism.
