Building a Bitcoin Circular Economy From Scratch: Isabella Santos on BTC Isla & Orange Pilling Mexico (BTC ISLA, GET BASED) [EB03]

Isabella Santos left Miami, moved to Isla Mujeres — a tiny island off the coast of Cancun — and spent two years building one of the most inspiring Bitcoin circular economies in the world. BTC Isla now has around 30 merchants accepting Bitcoin, a Bitcoin Cafe, a Bitcoin-powered gym (the first in all of Mexico to run its own node), and a growing community of locals learning about sound money for the first time. Isa shares her full story — from buying Bitcoin at the top in 2021, riding the bear market down, and coming out the other side with conviction — to the very real challenges of orange pilling a community where there's no savings culture, constant merchant churn, and plenty of skepticism from locals who don't immediately trust an outsider. This one is honest, inspiring, and deeply human. What you'll learn: How BTC Isla went from zero to ~30 merchants in under two years The real barriers to Bitcoin adoption in a developing community (it's not what you think) Why Isa pivoted from teaching-first to merchant-first — and why it worked How a ChatGPT-generated image of a Bitcoin Cafe turned into an actual Bitcoin Cafe funded by Bitcoiners on Geyser Why Isa challenges every listener to visit a Bitcoin circular economy at least once ISA LINKS: BTC ISLA Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@btcisla Website - https://www.btcisla.xyz/ X - https://x.com/BTCIsla NOSTR - https://primal.net/btcisla GEYSER FUND - https://geyser.fund/project/btcisla ISA X - https://x.com/isabellasg3/ NOSTR - https://primal.net/isabella INSTAGRAM - https://www.instagram.com/isabellasg3/ GET BASED - https://www.youtube.com/@getbasedtv FOLLOW ME (Keith): NOSTR - primal.net/keithmeola WEBSITE - keithmeola.com EVERYDAY BITCOIN NOSTR -https://njump.me/npub17rml5yu5ykjezt7ktw3rysffty4pevcv9y2xl2832sa3hqgkaxxqufcva2 EVERYDAY BITCOIN WEBSITE - everydaybitcoinpod.com If you enjoy Everyday Bitcoin, be sure to subscribe and leave a review! FOUNTAIN| SPOTIFY| APPLE| YOUTUBE If you found value in the show, please consider giving value back with a zap: [email protected]