Uvita de Osa nicknamed Bitcoin Jungle, is a small town in southern Costa Rica, on a section of coastline known as the BahÃÂa Ballena. It is notable for its widespread Bitcoin adoption, hosting an annual music event (Envision Festival) and being home to the Cola de Ballena (Whale's Tail) beach (Playa Uvita) which is one of the beaches comprising Marino Ballena National Park. Uvita has grown tremendously since the early 2000s and is the commercial center of the Costa Ballena region. Many expatriates from North America and Europe, particularly those who have an interest in Bitcoin, have moved to Uvita.
Bitcoin Jungle has gained international attention as one of several notable Bitcoin circular economies in Latin America, alongside Bitcoin Beach in El Salvador and similar projects in Brazil and Guatemala.
In December 2021, Josef Dvoracek created the Bitcoin Jungle project, headquartered in Uvita. By April 2022, the project helped 50 vendors and 20 other businesses begin to accept Bitcoin. By 2024, the number increased to 400 businesses offering goods and services in Bitcoin throughout Costa Rica, including the Uvita information center for tourism. Bitcoin jungle has also gotten the attention of Jack Dorsey, who has a part-time residence in Costa Rica.
Uvita has become the tourist and adventure tour hub of the Costa Ballena region. The town offers several tours ranging from whale watching to horseback riding. The town is also known for its many restaurants and accommodations catering to tourists. Participants in the Bitcoin Jungle project help onboard tourists to being using Bitcoin and the Lightning network during their travels in the area.
The region around Uvita is home to a large variety of animals. Uvita regularly is regularly visited by humpback whales which come from Northern California and Alaska during one time of the year and groups that come from the south and Antarctica during another time of the year.
At Hacienda Baru National Wildlife Preserve, fifteen minutes north of Uvita, more than 350 different species of birds have been identified.