The group of Bitcoin enthusiasts who earlier this month announced their plan to create the largest and highest-density Bitcoin community in the world said Wednesday that the event will be taking place on the Caribbean nation of Dominica.
On March 14 2015, the event known as “Let The Bit Drop” will provide all 70,000 Dominican residents who have SMS text messaging the opportunity to receive an unspecified amount of bitcoin, effectively creating the largest and highest density bitcoin economy in the world.
The event will be celebrated with an island-wide party featuring celebrities, musicians, bitcoin education booths, and free giveaways.
Sponsored by Coinapult and Aspen Assurance, The Bit Drop has received full cooperation and support from the Dominican government and has partnered with its elected leaders to distribute educational materials prior to the event.
CEO of Coinapult, Ira Miller has reportedly already met with Dominica’s Minister of Environment and Physical Planning, Dr. Kenneth Darroux, and is holding the event on the same day as international Pi Day for symbolic reasons, of course.
“Pi was important milestone in mathematics as is the Block chain technology behind Bitcoin transmission, the understanding of Pi gave mankind a freedom in the understanding of the mathematical world as Bitcoin gives a freedom to mankind in the financial world,” said Francis Ford, Senior Advisor of Aspen Assurance.
Bit Drop project manager Sarah Blincoe told CoinDesk that the island’s government has reacted in a highly positive manner, saying, “The young forward-thinking administration sees the long term benefits in the block chain technology and is eager to support our project in any way possible.”
Earlier this month, Miller told the PanAm Post, “So one of the things we are curious about is how they are going to use it: will they start sending each other money, or spending it on local businesses?”
One of Bitcoin’s greatest attributes is its ability to provide bank-like services to the billions of unbanked people in the world who have no formal or semiformal financial services to save or borrow money.
Since many of these unbanked people don’t have regular access to the internet – which is normally needed to use Bitcoin – the people at Coinapult developed the first SMS bitcoin wallet with hopes that it can be used to bring bitcoin to those unbanked who lack regular internet access.
“There are a lot of bitcoin wallets where you can send money to cell phones, and when they open it up, it goes to a web browser, but if they don’t have internet access, how could they use it? There are a few others that now offer the SMS approach,” Miller told the PanAm Post.
“Up to the present day, bitcoin has been mostly internet technology, so you have to have access to the internet — and not only in a computer lab once a week in your village. You have to most likely use it every day and really be deeply into the internet.”
“[Much of the Bitcoin community] lost focus on what the real strengths of bitcoins are. The real strengths are access, and to make these tools accessible to more people … if you can do that, then you will succeed. And that is what we haven’t been doing well, as a community: reaching out to the people that need bitcoin the most, the most interested in something like this.”
