Cuba’s Bitcoin Revolution • Hacker News Board

Re: Cuba’s Bitcoin Revolution

#11

Post by jnsaff2 » Fri, Aug 13, 2021, 6:48 AM UTC

themodelplumber wrote: post #3

Went diving for the lede and gave up somewhere near the wreck of the titanic. Maybe I scrolled right past but wow that was a lot of extra context.

The bitcoin part of the piece is based on interviews with 3 people:

1. supposedly buys bitcoin with the funny money the article complains about, leaves unclear where her disposable income comes from and also how people get bitcoin and why they want funny money if they have bitcoin

2. estimates there are hundreds of thousands of bitcoin users in cuba, people get bitcoin sent by family abroad, businesses which want to interface with foreign companies need to use bitcoin

3. this guy uses bitcoin as an uber eats, food delivered to him and other small conveniences, admits it's very early for bitcoin

Re: Cuba’s Bitcoin Revolution

#12

Post by tonyjstark » Fri, Aug 13, 2021, 6:48 AM UTC

There's everything in there: being your own bank, trust and distancing from pyramid schemes, hodling, ...

How often does Bitcoin need to fail as a currency so that crypto-currency enthusiasts stop pushing the narrative of Bitcoin being a currency?

But maybe if Cuba becomes anarcho-capitalistic, the stupid embargo gets finally lifted /s.

Re: Cuba’s Bitcoin Revolution

#13

Post by FreeRadical » Fri, Aug 13, 2021, 6:53 AM UTC

arcticbull wrote: post #8

lefrenchy wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Touché

A volatile currency with direct transaction fees ranging from $0.05-60 [edited per FreeRadical - thanks!] and indirect transaction fees of roughly $90 (socialized block reward). Whose value dropped 50% in a month then went up 50% in a month (which of course still leaves it 25% below its near-term highs). I don't think even the Cuban Peso performs like that. Think about both of those in terms of the average salary of…

Direct transaction fees have been $0.05-0.2 for a long while now, mostly being below $0.1

See: https://mempool.space/

Re: Cuba’s Bitcoin Revolution

#14

Post by namaria » Fri, Aug 13, 2021, 6:56 AM UTC

tonyjstark wrote: post #12

There's everything in there: being your own bank, trust and distancing from pyramid schemes, hodling, ... How often does Bitcoin need to fail as a currency so that crypto-currency enthusiasts stop pushing the narrative of Bitcoin being a currency? But maybe if Cuba becomes anarcho-capitalistic, the stupid embargo gets finally lifted /s.

I find it amusing that much like Marxism, bitcoin promised a revolution under capitalism's nose, only to thrive in dragging dramatically underdeveloped societies into it.

Re: Cuba’s Bitcoin Revolution

#15

Post by [deleted] » Fri, Aug 13, 2021, 6:56 AM UTC

FreeRadical wrote: post #13

arcticbull wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A volatile currency with direct transaction fees ranging from $0.05-60 [edited per FreeRadical - thanks!] and indirect transaction fees of roughly $90 (socialized block reward). Whose value dropped 50% in a month then went up 50% in a month (which of course still leaves it 25% below its near-term highs). I don't think even the Cuban Peso performs like that. Think about both of those in terms of the average salary of…

Direct transaction fees have been $0.05-0.2 for a long while now, mostly being below $0.1 See: https://mempool.space/

[deleted]

Re: Cuba’s Bitcoin Revolution

#16

Post by oraphalous » Fri, Aug 13, 2021, 6:57 AM UTC

dougSF70 wrote: post #9

Bitcoin could be the undoing of the regime. It will allow Cubans to accumulate wealth that the regime cannot seize or convert into another worthless Cuban domestic currency. While I like the idea of free health care and education, the idea that a brain surgeon gets paid same as a street cleaner is absurd. Cuba is a series of failed experiments.

If the experiment was to defy U.S. hegemony and see if your outcomes improve - then yeah, it's a failure.

Re: Cuba’s Bitcoin Revolution

#17

Post by tenuousemphasis » Fri, Aug 13, 2021, 7:01 AM UTC

arcticbull wrote: post #8

lefrenchy wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Touché

A volatile currency with direct transaction fees ranging from $0.05-60 [edited per FreeRadical - thanks!] and indirect transaction fees of roughly $90 (socialized block reward). Whose value dropped 50% in a month then went up 50% in a month (which of course still leaves it 25% below its near-term highs). I don't think even the Cuban Peso performs like that. Think about both of those in terms of the average salary of…

Indirect transaction fees are a really pointless statistic.

Re: Cuba’s Bitcoin Revolution

#18

Post by Acrobatic_Road » Fri, Aug 13, 2021, 7:02 AM UTC

The woman mentioned in the article mentions she first heard about bitcoin watching keiser report on RT. Out of curiosity, I did a youtube search for keiser report, and sorted by most views, and the top results are all spanish dubbed episodes about bitcoin. So it looks like Max Keiser has a major audience in spanish speaking countries, even though his show is really for western audiences.

Re: Cuba’s Bitcoin Revolution

#19

Post by wesleywt » Fri, Aug 13, 2021, 7:02 AM UTC

arcticbull wrote: post #8

lefrenchy wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Touché

A volatile currency with direct transaction fees ranging from $0.05-60 [edited per FreeRadical - thanks!] and indirect transaction fees of roughly $90 (socialized block reward). Whose value dropped 50% in a month then went up 50% in a month (which of course still leaves it 25% below its near-term highs). I don't think even the Cuban Peso performs like that. Think about both of those in terms of the average salary of…

Bitcoin was a saviour for many ordingary folk in Venezuela during the hyperinflation crisis. It worked as intended.

https://www.dw.com/en/venezuelans-try-to-beat-hyperinflation...

Why would a country embargoed by the USA use USD?

Re: Cuba’s Bitcoin Revolution

#20

Post by moonchrome » Fri, Aug 13, 2021, 7:03 AM UTC

arcticbull wrote: post #10

dougSF70 wrote: post #9

Bitcoin could be the undoing of the regime. It will allow Cubans to accumulate wealth that the regime cannot seize or convert into another worthless Cuban domestic currency. While I like the idea of free health care and education, the idea that a brain surgeon gets paid same as a street cleaner is absurd. Cuba is a series of failed experiments.

> While I like the idea of free health care and education, the idea that a brain surgeon gets paid same as a street cleaner is absurd. I personally support wealth and income inequality when coupled with social mobility (and a high standard of living at the low end). With that in mind, why do you think it's absurd for both a street cleaner and a brain surgeon to enjoy a middle class lifestyle? I think we both agree ne…

> I cannot, for one, think of a solid justification.

Really ? Any person without a severe physical disabilities can be a street cleaner - you need very low incentives to generate people capable.

Surgeons take like a decade of training and a small % of the population is even capable of becoming one and there's a demand for their skills.

Software developers create output that potentially has a very non-linear return. Few 1000 people can create software used by billions daily. A few people can develop software that manages billions of $ of assets.