70,000 Caribbean Island Residents to Receive Bitcoin in 2015

All 70,000 residents living on the Caribbean nation of Dominica will be eligible to receive bitcoin as part of 'The Bit Drop' project, an upcoming collaboration between bitcoin businesses, interest groups and local government officials.

Speaking to CoinDesk, project manager Sarah Blincoe suggested the ambitious project started with a simple question: how do you get bitcoin into the hands of as many people as possible? From there, she explained, a plan was launched to distribute an undisclosed amount of bitcoin to island residents via text messaging.

Project partners include bitcoin wallet and merchant processing provider Coinapult, international non-profit the College Cryptocurrency Network, women's industry group Bitcoin Beauties and bitcoin-friendly insurance provider Aspen Assurance.

Bitcoin penetration is comparatively low in Dominica.

There, the official Bitcoin-Qt wallet has only been downloaded roughly 160 times, suggesting bitcoin use is not widespread. Island-wide support.

Notably, this is not the first time that a group has sought to spread bitcoin use by targeting residents in a specific country with free digital currency.

Two of the country's five telecommunications providers will also be providing their support for the bitcoin distribution, Blincoe noted.

In particular, she said it will provide bitcoin point-of-sale systems to merchants and install bitcoin ATMs on the island.

"We will be providing the educational materials and resources necessary to educate the people of Dominica about bitcoin, and hopefully, as a result, leave a lasting economic and social impact on the island."

Gardner added that College Cryptocurrency Network intends to start a bitcoin club at the island's state university, and that CCN members will visit the country to help educate local bitcoin users.