Prospera Distrito Bitcoin is a Bitcoin district within Prospera, a special economic zone (ZEDE) on Roatan Island, Honduras. Launched in 2025, the project aims to build the world's first Bitcoin-native urban economy, taking advantage of Prospera's unique regulatory framework where Bitcoin has been legal tender since 2022.
Overview
Prospera's status as a semi-autonomous jurisdiction with its own legal, tax, and regulatory system creates a rare laboratory for Bitcoin adoption at scale. The Bitcoin District operates within this framework, where residents and businesses can pay a flat 1% income tax -- payable in BTC. With approximately 100 merchants and over 200 businesses in the broader zone, Prospera Distrito Bitcoin is working to make every transaction in the district possible with Bitcoin and the Lightning Network.
The district is part of Cruzada21, a program organized by La Crypta and Veintiuno that provides Bitcoin infrastructure to Latin American communities, including nodes, point-of-sale terminals, and NFC cards for Lightning payments.
Activities
Merchant Onboarding
The district focuses on converting Prospera's existing merchant base to accept Bitcoin, building a genuine circular economy where businesses and customers transact in BTC for everyday goods and services.
Events
Prospera Distrito Bitcoin hosts and participates in several notable events. BitChill, held each November, is a retreat-style gathering for Bitcoiners. The district also organizes the Crypto Cities Summit and runs Bitcoin Starter Sessions -- introductory workshops designed to onboard newcomers.
Community Building
The team maintains an active presence on social media and Nostr, connecting with the global Bitcoin community while building local adoption on the island.
Significance
Prospera Distrito Bitcoin represents one of the most ambitious experiments in Bitcoin urban economics. Unlike El Salvador's national legal tender law, Prospera's approach is jurisdictionally contained within a special economic zone, allowing for tighter integration between Bitcoin and governance. The combination of legal tender status, low BTC-payable taxes, and a concentrated merchant base creates conditions for a genuine Bitcoin circular economy that few other places in the world can replicate.