El Salvador adopts Bitcoin as official currency, first country to do so • Hacker News Board

Re: El Salvador adopts Bitcoin as official currency, first country to do so

#11

Post by imtringued » Tue, Sep 07, 2021, 4:13 PM UTC

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #3

imtringued wrote: post #2

I wonder if this will prompt the USA to import more products from El Salvador to reduce the size of the remittances sector and thereby lessen the reason people use Bitcoin in the first place. Before anyone tells the Salvadorians to export more products... they do... and they do it by working in a country that exports to El Salvador.

> prompt the USA to import more products from El Salvador to reduce the size of the remittances sector and thereby lessen the reason people use Bitcoin Who in America would benefit from fighting this? Crypto is a real industry. It’s more profitable for the financial sector than similar activity in U.S. dollars. And the Fed doesn’t thoroughly love that it has to take international factors into account when its politic…

>Who in America would benefit from this?

Well, there would be less immigration from Salvador to the USA so basically people concerned about economic refugees. I don't mean this in a xenophobic way. Balanced trade will improve the conditions in El Salvador and thereby let people stay in their home country voluntarily rather than be forced out for economic reasons.

Re: El Salvador adopts Bitcoin as official currency, first country to do so

#12

Post by JumpCrisscross » Tue, Sep 07, 2021, 4:14 PM UTC

lottin wrote: post #9

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> prompt the USA to import more products from El Salvador to reduce the size of the remittances sector and thereby lessen the reason people use Bitcoin Who in America would benefit from fighting this? Crypto is a real industry. It’s more profitable for the financial sector than similar activity in U.S. dollars. And the Fed doesn’t thoroughly love that it has to take international factors into account when its politic…

> Crypto is a real industry. Not really. An industry produces goods and services. What does crypto produce?

> What does crypto produce?

Money. Jobs. Aficionados. “Real” as in it has political heft.

Re: El Salvador adopts Bitcoin as official currency, first country to do so

#13

Post by solaxun » Tue, Sep 07, 2021, 4:14 PM UTC

lottin wrote: post #9

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> prompt the USA to import more products from El Salvador to reduce the size of the remittances sector and thereby lessen the reason people use Bitcoin Who in America would benefit from fighting this? Crypto is a real industry. It’s more profitable for the financial sector than similar activity in U.S. dollars. And the Fed doesn’t thoroughly love that it has to take international factors into account when its politic…

> Crypto is a real industry. Not really. An industry produces goods and services. What does crypto produce?

Jobs.

Re: El Salvador adopts Bitcoin as official currency, first country to do so

#14

Post by remir » Tue, Sep 07, 2021, 4:15 PM UTC

Why go with Bitcoin specifically? Why not use the Celo blockchain or Algorand instead and create their own stable coins on there? Both these networks are proof of work, transactions are very fast and cheap as well.

Bitcoin is slow to validate transactions, is environmentally costly, and its value fluctuate, so I'm not sure what they were thinking. I wonder what the 30$ they receive from the gov is worth today after the dip.

Re: El Salvador adopts Bitcoin as official currency, first country to do so

#15

Post by doomroot » Tue, Sep 07, 2021, 4:17 PM UTC

lottin wrote: post #9

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> prompt the USA to import more products from El Salvador to reduce the size of the remittances sector and thereby lessen the reason people use Bitcoin Who in America would benefit from fighting this? Crypto is a real industry. It’s more profitable for the financial sector than similar activity in U.S. dollars. And the Fed doesn’t thoroughly love that it has to take international factors into account when its politic…

> Crypto is a real industry. Not really. An industry produces goods and services. What does crypto produce?

Financial sovereignty

Re: El Salvador adopts Bitcoin as official currency, first country to do so

#16

Post by hsavit1 » Tue, Sep 07, 2021, 4:17 PM UTC

vavooom wrote: post #7

Found this interesting deck[1] on El Salvador's digital climate while looking for smart phone adoption statistics. It would appear that there are more than enough smart devices to allow for such a transition successfully. Already on Twitter we're seeing crypto-punks there using Bitcoin to pay for their McDonalds, paying something like 0.000002 Bitcoin. I can't help but wonder what the outcome +1 year / + 5 years will…

what an awful waste of energy. Each bitcoin transaction uses the energy equivalent the entire lifespan of a tree. Effectively, each bitcoin transaction is cutting down of tree... in this case, for a hamburger

Re: El Salvador adopts Bitcoin as official currency, first country to do so

#17

Post by imtringued » Tue, Sep 07, 2021, 4:18 PM UTC

earnesti wrote: post #4

imtringued wrote: post #2

I wonder if this will prompt the USA to import more products from El Salvador to reduce the size of the remittances sector and thereby lessen the reason people use Bitcoin in the first place. Before anyone tells the Salvadorians to export more products... they do... and they do it by working in a country that exports to El Salvador.

I dont think governments work that way

It's true they don't work that way because developed nations want to exploit developing nations rather than cooperate with them to maximize well being in the entire world.

Over the long term it is quite foolish because a debt claim against a weaker country will turn out to be worthless.

Re: El Salvador adopts Bitcoin as official currency, first country to do so

#18

Post by imtringued » Tue, Sep 07, 2021, 4:19 PM UTC

dragonwriter wrote: post #5

imtringued wrote: post #2

I wonder if this will prompt the USA to import more products from El Salvador to reduce the size of the remittances sector and thereby lessen the reason people use Bitcoin in the first place. Before anyone tells the Salvadorians to export more products... they do... and they do it by working in a country that exports to El Salvador.

Traditionally, when people in the US want to reduce remittances, they just campaign to expel the immigrants making the remittances.

That will just lead to a debt crisis down the road.

Re: El Salvador adopts Bitcoin as official currency, first country to do so

#19

Post by bethecloud » Tue, Sep 07, 2021, 4:19 PM UTC

hsavit1 wrote: post #16

vavooom wrote: post #7

Found this interesting deck[1] on El Salvador's digital climate while looking for smart phone adoption statistics. It would appear that there are more than enough smart devices to allow for such a transition successfully. Already on Twitter we're seeing crypto-punks there using Bitcoin to pay for their McDonalds, paying something like 0.000002 Bitcoin. I can't help but wonder what the outcome +1 year / + 5 years will…

what an awful waste of energy. Each bitcoin transaction uses the energy equivalent the entire lifespan of a tree. Effectively, each bitcoin transaction is cutting down of tree... in this case, for a hamburger

Nope. Bitcoin use and mining power are completely uncorrelated. By mining bitcoins, your earn as much as the computational fraction you are representing. So, indeed, there was a race to more and more mining power in the recent years but it can completely be reversed. For example if electricity prices rises.

Bitcoin could be used by the whole world with mining only happening on a laptop. That would not change anything for Bitcoin users.

Re: El Salvador adopts Bitcoin as official currency, first country to do so

#20

Post by booleandilemma » Tue, Sep 07, 2021, 4:19 PM UTC

It’s amazing how countries are wholeheartedly adopting this thing as an official currency that we have no idea who invented and for what purpose. I mean sure, there’s a white paper that says why it was invented, but why should anyone believe it?

If it does turn out to be malicious it’s going to make for one hell of a cautionary tale.