Bitcoin Dominicana is the first Bitcoin-only community in the Dominican Republic, operating from Santo Domingo with chapters in La Romana, Santiago, Puerto Plata, La Vega, Higuey, and Samana. The community was the first to add Dominican businesses to BTC Map, won the Bitcoin Beach Grant in 2024, and serves as the official national representative of Mi Primer Bitcoin in the country.
Overview
Bitcoin Dominicana was founded by Pedro Vital García, a marketing professional whose Bitcoin revelation came witnessing someone pay for coffee with a phone in a Salvadoran market. That experience catalyzed his mission to bring Bitcoin adoption to the Dominican Republic.
The community takes a comprehensive approach to Bitcoin adoption, combining grassroots education with merchant onboarding and institutional advocacy. Their merchant adoption work grew from 5 to 65 businesses accepting Bitcoin in less than a year. The community's footprint extends across seven Dominican cities, making it one of the most geographically distributed Bitcoin communities in the Caribbean. Their work with Mi Primer Bitcoin -- an open-source Bitcoin education program originally developed in El Salvador -- adapts proven curricula to the Dominican context, ensuring that educational content resonates with local economic realities.
Bitcoin Dominicana established a partnership with the Universidad de Psicología Industrial Dominicana (UPID) to implement the Bitcoin Diploma, bringing Bitcoin education into the formal academic setting. The community also played a pivotal role in the creation of the Asociación de Bitcoin de la República Dominicana (formally established as an NGO), an organization aimed at giving the Dominican Bitcoin community a formal institutional voice for engaging with regulators, businesses, and the public.
Among Bitcoin Dominicana's ambitious goals is the construction of the first exclusive hotel for bitcoiners in the Dominican Republic. Pedro Vital García has been a speaker at Adopting Bitcoin 2024 in El Salvador, representing the growing Dominican Bitcoin movement on the international stage.
Activities
Education
As the official Mi Primer Bitcoin representative in the Dominican Republic, Bitcoin Dominicana delivers structured Bitcoin education courses in Spanish. The curriculum covers money fundamentals, Bitcoin technology, self-custody, and the Lightning Network, designed to take complete beginners to confident self-sovereign users.
Merchant Adoption
Bitcoin Dominicana was the first to map Dominican Bitcoin-accepting businesses on BTC Map, creating a visible directory that encourages circular economy development. The team actively onboards merchants in multiple cities, providing hands-on support for setting up Lightning payment terminals.
Bitcoin Beach Grant
The community's selection as a Bitcoin Beach Grant 2024 recipient recognized their grassroots work and provided resources to accelerate merchant adoption and education programs across the country.
Significance
Bitcoin Dominicana demonstrates the power of combining international frameworks (Mi Primer Bitcoin) with local execution. By establishing chapters across multiple cities rather than concentrating in the capital alone, the community ensures that Bitcoin education and adoption reach Dominicans regardless of where they live. Their institutional advocacy through the Asociacion de Bitcoin further positions the Dominican Republic as an emerging hub for Bitcoin adoption in the Caribbean.