“We were the first ones to accept bitcoin in our stores,” Salinas said, adding that his companies will soon add support for receiving transactions through the Lightning Network, Bitcoin’s layer-2 scaling solution for cheaper and faster payments.
When asked what people should focus on as they start learning about Bitcoin, Salinas said gaining good foundational knowledge about the history of money and fiat currency will help people understand the value proposition of BTC.
“There is a lot of confusion regarding money in general,” Salinas said. “At the end of the day, it all boils down to human beings doing really well when we cooperate and work together. Cooperation necessarily means division of labor and specialization, and that must bring trading.”
The entrepreneur added that money came about as a means to improve the trading of goods between people as it provided a more liquid and ubiquitous form of value far better than barter, the original way of doing business. Bitcoin, Salinas elaborates, is a better money than fiat and gold because it brings additional qualities.
“Gold is hard to transport and hard to store,” he said. “The gold price has been manipulated quite easily by central banks around the world. Bitcoin comes in as a new asset that is harder to manipulate, it’s a better asset as you can sell it easier and you can transport and store it basically for free.”
However, Salinas cautioned investors seeking a quick way to make money that he sees Bitcoin as a long-term investment instead, akin to a savings account.
“Don’t expect to make a quick buck in 30 days,” Salinas said.
