A YouTuber started a journey in September to see if he could survive solely on Bitcoin as a means of payment while traveling to 40 different countries.
Speaking with Cointelegraph on Monday, YouTuber Paco De La India, or โPaco from India,โ said that although the spread of omicron had somewhat altered his original travel plans, he was still surprised at how many people had accepted Bitcoin (BTC) in countries where cryptocurrencies were in a legal or regulatory gray area. Starting his journey in the Indian city of Bangalore, Paco sold his belongings in September 2021 and relied primarily on BTC donations to fund his trip, which has, so far, taken him through India, the United Arab Emirates, Thailand, and Cambodia. .
The YouTuber, who said he preferred to use noncustodial and Lightning wallets for BTC transactions, originally planned to visit 40 countries for 10 days each, but COVID restrictions had somewhat altered his itinerary. Paco is working around mandatory quarantines, many countries' requirements that tourists stay within their borders for at least 14 days, and the added costs of polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, tests.
According to Paco, two people who took their COVID test in India to travel to the United Arab Emirates accepted BTC instead of fiat rupees without hesitation. In addition, he was able to negotiate with those examined in Thailand for a PCR test to travel to Cambodia. The YouTuber attributed part of the reason behind the acceptance of crypto payments to officials more concerned with verifying vaccination certificates than COVID tests.
โAt the end of the day, it's a piece of paper,โ Paco said. "It's just a piece of paper [for] which [there] there is no possible way to verify. The only thing they are checking right now is the vaccine, by the QR code."
Related: Cryptocurrency Adoption: How Can Cryptocurrency Change the Travel Industry?
Although many countries have announced plans to verify the authenticity of the COVID-19 test results Using blockchain technology, there does not appear to be an international standard for immigration officials to recognize tests taken in foreign countries. For example, travelers flying to the United States must complete a rapid COVID test within 24 hours of arrival, but not all recommended health passport apps by US airlines can recognize QR codes provided by foreign test centers.
In addition to COVID testing, Paco said that he had been able to get by with Bitcoin as a payment method often by sheer chance, never forcing crypto on an unsuspecting party and surprised at how many random vendors were open to it. According to the YouTuber, he was forced to avoid most public transportation in these four countries and use his debit card to fuel his bike, but connected with more people on land.
โThailand is super crypto friendly,โ Paco said. โCambodia is another [super friendly] place. United Arab Emirates, it looks like that, but I feel like it's only among the richest people."
He added:
โI have changed my approach a lot. I have moved more from talking to older people who have already lived their lives to finding the young people who are really tech-savvy. [...] are very curious about [Bitcoin]. It's always: They want to make money. Everyone sees Bitcoin as a way to make money."
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