This spring, the Madeiran archipelago \u201cadopted\u201d Bitcoin\u00a0(BTC<\/a>). Madeira\u2019s President, Miguel Albuquerque, was invited onto the stage at Bitcoin Miami 2022 by Jan3 CEO Samson Mow<\/a> to announce the promise.<\/p>\n The president announced, \u201cI believe in the future, and I believe in Bitcoin.\u201d Days prior, Albuquerque was breaking bread with Michael Saylor, executive chairman of MicroStrategy, at his luxury villa. Albuquerque was \u201corange-pilled\u201d by one of the world\u2019s wealthiest Bitcoin hodlers. <\/a><\/p>\n Nonetheless, as Cointelegraph later reported, the island of Madeira was not adopting<\/a> but, in fact, \u201cembracing\u201d Bitcoin. The European Union governs the Portuguese islands, therefore, they cannot legally adopt Bitcoin as a legal tender. Plus, regulatory hurdles and reliance on EU subsidies and energy pose a challenge to outright Bitcoin adoption.<\/p>\n So Cointelegraph caught up with Andr\u00e9 Loja, the Madeiran entrepreneur and driving force behind the island\u2019s Bitcoin strategy, following his appearance on stage at Bitcoin Amsterdam 2022<\/a>. <\/p>\n Over the past six months, Loja has founded The Regional Forum of Economic Education, or F.R.E.E Madeira, alongside Bitcoin big-hitters including Bitcoin author Knut Svanholm and podcaster Daniel Prince. The board\u2019s advisers boast entrepreneur and author Jeff Booth,\u00a0Fedmint CEO Obi Nwosu<\/a>, as well as Mow. The group serves to ensure the president upholds his \u201cserious commitment,\u201d Jeff Booth explained, to making<\/a> Madeira a home for the \u201cnew base layer of the new internet.\u201d <\/p>\n The island now boasts a series of Bitcoin-first investments, developments and even Bitcoiner residents, as well as a steady trickle of crypto-curious people who have embarked on their first trip to the island. <\/p>\n Loja told Cointelegraph that while Bitcoin is at the core of economic development and investment, \u201cMadeira is not only investing in Bitcoin, but all kinds of technologies.\u201d For example, a center for ocean-oriented startups and an advanced medical center are under construction. <\/p>\n These economic activities fit under the president\u2019s purview of adopting new technologies and working toward Madeira, shedding its reputation as uniquely a haven for older generations. Nonetheless, these developments in wider technology dwindle in comparison to the progress made in embracing the world\u2019s largest cryptocurrency.<\/p>\n Following a series of talks with Bitcoin OGs, including privacy advocate Matt Odell and Unchained Capital\u2019s Parker Lewis, Madeira has the green light to set up a Bitcoin Commons. \u201cIt\u2019s basically a big Bitcoin-only coworking space. It\u2019ll also be a place to park the association,\u201d Loja explained. The Bitcoin Commons is a space for the nonprofit, F.R.E.E. Madeira, to thrive:<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll have a podcast room there, we\u2019ll do the [Bitcoin] meetups, we’ll do the education part there. We\u2019ll also have the remittances also set up there with the ATM and so on to connect to the diaspora.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The Madeiran diaspora sprawls across the globe. Lucinda Castro, a Madeiran lawyer on the governance board of F.R.E.E., told Cointelegraph in June that \u201cMadeirans emigrated to Venezuela, the United States and Canada in their thousands;\u201d inclusive of second and third-generation immigrants, there are now over one million Madeirans living in Venezuela. The use case of Bitcoin as a remittance tool for Madeirans is, therefore, compelling. <\/p>\n Sending money home from overseas played a part in El Salvador\u2019s move to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender<\/a>, while another small island nation, Tonga, has also\u00a0been vocal in supporting Bitcoin remittance payments<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Bitcoin Commons will also support human development with the founding of a coding academy. The academy encourages Bitcoin companies around the world to travel to Madeira to learn new skills while providing locals with a space to hone their digital skills on the island. The Bitcoin Academy, as it will become known, also shines a light on the Lightning Network<\/a>, the layer-2 payments network.<\/p>\n As things stand, Bitcoin believers can purchase property, invest and mingle with the budding Bitcoin community on the island, Loja explained. On stage at Bitcoin Amsterdam 2022, Jeff Booth announced his intent to invest in the island, adding, \u201can island such as Madeira can compete globally and can be the new Silicon Valley.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n However, in order to facilitate payment in Bitcoin, investors should enlist the help of a third-party intermediary, such as Archipelago Investments. Bitcoin merchant adoption is slowly spreading across the island, but much like the mainland, it\u2019s a challenge to live on a Bitcoin standard. Across the Atlantic in Lisbon, there\u2019s a thriving Bitcoin community<\/a>, but very few merchants accept Bitcoin as a means of exchange. <\/p>\n The panel in Amsterdam was frank in response to questions regarding merchant Bitcoin acceptance. The team at F.R.E.E. is set on guiding the president and the administration into the new Bitcoin era. Ultimately, the autonomous region must roll out Bitcoin adoption without burning bridges with the EU on which Madeira remains heavily dependent. Merchant adoption will come, however, and \u201cthat\u2019s what the [Bitcoin] plebs are for,\u201d Svanholm said. <\/p>\n Related:\u00a0Portugal proposes 28% tax on annual crypto trading profits next year<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Just like mainland Portugal, Madeira\u2019s first language is Portuguese, and Portuguese business resources are growing. Nico Laamanen, a co-founder of the Konsensus Network, established business operations on the island as part of his mission to \u201cmake Bitcoin knowledge accessible to everyone, in every country, in every language.\u201d Naturally one of their priorities is translating books into Portuguese:<\/p>\n \u201cMadeira is great for remote workers which overlaps with many bitcoiners myself included. The tax regime, friendly environment and Bitcoin curiosity are just big bonuses.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The Looking Glass Education, backed by F.R.E.E. adviser Greg Foss, is another sound money educational resource<\/a> to support Madeira.<\/p>\n When pressed on whether Madeira is effectively becoming a European hub for Bitcoin development, Loja joked, \u201cthat\u2019s the idea.\u201d Notwithstanding headwinds posed by Portugal jockeying to tax crypto gains<\/a>, the Madeira initiative should put the island firmly on the map for Bitcoin adoption.<\/p>\n Finally, Bitcoin filmmakers PlebMusic and Cinemuck shot F.R.E.E.\u2019s initial meetings with policymakers and politicians on the island and showed the trailer at Bitcoin Amsterdam 2022. The full documentary will screen by December 2022 and will likely equip the island with another Bitcoin-friendly marketing tool. <\/p>\n Laamanen concluded, \u201cI think Madeira will become a hotspot for bitcoin entrepreneurs and users in Europe and I want to be a part if it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/s3.cointelegraph.com\/uploads\/2022-10\/0eb8714e-4dbd-4740-95ce-6e9144af606d.png\" "\\"\\"")
Taking advice from F.R.E.E Madeira<\/h3>\n
![\"Madeira,](\"https:\/\/s3.cointelegraph.com\/uploads\/2022-05\/8504d8e3-7fe5-483d-982c-e9fbfcae3831.png\" "\\"The")
<\/figure>\nWill Bitcoin be the standard in Madeira?<\/h3>\n