**[Bitcoin Payment Experiment in El Salvador Nearly Stalls, Core Developer Witnesses "Bitcoin Beach" Payment Drought]** BlockBeats News, August 26: Bitcoin core contributor Jon Atack, who has been residing in El Salvador since 2022, recently documented a real-life experience. While attempting to pay for lunch using BTC at El Zonte's "Bitcoin Beach," the staff informed him that it was the restaurant's first Bitcoin payment of the entire month. BTC transactions in the area have shifted from being common to nearly nonexistent. When Atack tried to tip using sats, a staff member who had worked there for three years admitted they had forgotten how to use the Bitcoin app and described the local payment scene as "dead." Some travelers reported successful BTC payments in the same area, and sporadic signs indicating Bitcoin acceptance still remain in the town. However, daily Bitcoin payments have visibly declined. El Zonte was once the birthplace of El Salvador's Bitcoin story, where an anonymous donor began distributing Bitcoin to the town in 2019. In 2021, El Salvador officially adopted BTC as legal tender. However, under the 2024 IMF loan agreement, El Salvador shifted merchant acceptance of Bitcoin to a voluntary basis, leading to a continued cooling of on-chain payments. Although Atack remains optimistic about El Salvador's pioneering stance in legislation and adoption, the enthusiasm for Bitcoin payments at "Bitcoin Beach" has significantly waned.