Meet Rolante, a Brazilian city that is adopting Bitcoin

On March 30, the local affiliate of the largest and most influential open television station in Brazil talked about a significant Bitcoin (BTC) adoption going on in Rolante, a small town in the south of the country.

Shared by the X (formerly Twitter) account Bitcoineaqui, the story highlights the ongoing adoption and briefly explains what is Bitcoin. The 3-minute report was aired by RBS TV, a Rede Globo affiliate, and leading mainstream media group in Brazil.

Notably, Ricardo Stim ignited the adoption by taking to Rolante’s merchant association and suggesting they accept Bitcoin for payments.

“In one month [of the project] we became the largest Brazilian city to accept Bitcoin; in two months the world’s largest. Today we are, by far, the largest town worldwide [accepting Bitcoin]. We have one point [of sale] for every 105 residents, while the second-largest has one point for every 5,000 residents.”

– Ricardo Stim to RBS TV (translated by Finbold)

Where is Rolante?

Rolante is a small town in Brazil with over 21,000 population, part of the Rio Grande do Sul estate. This estate is the last of Brazilian states going south, making borders with Argentina and Paraguay.

It has nearly 300 km² in area and is around one hour’s drive from the state’s capital, Porto Alegre. Interestingly, Rolante’s GDP per capita is R$34,884 in the local currency, worth around $6,976. This data is from IBGE, Brazil’s leading demographic researcher.

What is happening with the Brazilian city, Rolante, that adopted Bitcoin?

On that note, the RBS report mentions a recent 2-day Bitcoin festival. The event moved R$300,000, or $60,000, in payment volume using Bitcoin, according to the reporter.

Moreover, 40% of Rolante’s merchants accept Bitcoin as payment, while services and the health sector are starting to do so. Edson Reichert, a store owner, commented on the experience.

“We ask, in our daily financial transactions, what is the means of payment. If it is cash, credit card, paycheck, and now we have the option to ask if it will be in Bitcoin.”

– Edson Reichert

Another merchant, Anderson Reichert, explained that Bitcoin adoption has attracted tourists to Rolante. In the meantime, the local population is still discovering what Bitcoin is and how to use BTC for payments.

Cases like this, in Rolante, are part of the original vision of Bitcoin as a peer-to-peer electronic cash system, showing that organic adoption of cryptocurrencies is possible. As of writing, Bitcoin was changing hands by around $70,000, ranging in this level since March 26.

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