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Bitcoin Failed in El Salvador. The President Says the Answer Is More Bitcoin

foreignpolicy.com

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Re: Bitcoin Failed in El Salvador. The President Says the Answer Is More Bitcoin

#31

Post by sebow »

I don't think bitcoin "Failed" necessarily there.People should keep the distinction between "politican" promises of hype.In the case of political talk+ crypto talk, the hype is squared and one should take the square root to take a wild guess of where things will probably be.

And i'm no fan of bitcoin by any stretch, but what exactly is the problem?Still better than hyping up and industry and then becoming broke, like venezuela; though i recognize that particular example(which is relevant given the geopolitics here) triggers many.I've personally heard a lot of common people(think shop owners) that at least think this move was a good idea.

Re: Bitcoin Failed in El Salvador. The President Says the Answer Is More Bitcoin

#32

Post by thepasswordis »

This article is weird. It doesn’t seem to explain why bitcoin “failed”, just seems to suggest that El Salvador is not yet an economic paradise after 8 months.

I like what this guy is doing. Sure it could fail. But obviously the SOP has already failed. Good for him and good for the people of El Salvador.

Re: Bitcoin Failed in El Salvador. The President Says the Answer Is More Bitcoin

#33

Post by jessaustin »

throwaway20875 wrote: post #4

Bitcoin isn't the lone currency in the country and the dollar is still widely used there. Expect more of this as the president of El Salvador has invited the ire of the US government by exposing the US's involvement in corruption in his country: https://twitter.com/nayibbukele/status/1469045510442864642 The media is about to go full court press on this guy, BTC is just one angle they'll use.

Those who control the output of popular media firms are suddenly really nervous about Latin America in general. The right-wing coups in Bolivia and Brazil have failed, the ones planned in Venezuela never got off the ground, NED electoral interference in recent elections throughout the region didn't work, OAS is replaced by CELAC, the Chinese are preparing to dig an "inter-ocean canal" through Nicaragua, etc. Billionaires are nervous, so turn up the skepticism on anything produced by billionaire mouthpieces.

Re: Bitcoin Failed in El Salvador. The President Says the Answer Is More Bitcoin

#34

Post by JKCalhoun »

throwaway20875 wrote: post #16
KarlKemp wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is like that complaint of Brexiteers, that the European Union, which they wanted to be oh-so-independent of, isn’t giving them the deal they had promised. The whole premise was that Bitcoin would allow El Sal to free itself from under the power of the US($). I can’t even tell if you consider that effort to be successful or not. But considering the average American probably thinks ‘El Salvador’ was the guy Scorce…

>I doubt any theories of “the media” having anything to gain from conspiring against the country Aside from your sweeping and snide remarks on Americans, this is a woefully naive take. The US derives a lot of its power through the global monetary system. It can essentially isolate an entire country from large segments of global trade by simply sanctioning it (severing SWIFT transactions and threatening any banks with…

I'm not doubting your point that the U.S. has both the incentive and track record to interfere with El Salvador.

How do you back up your suggestion that the media is being controlled by U.S. interests, that there is collusion on the part of the media and U.S. government?

Re: Bitcoin Failed in El Salvador. The President Says the Answer Is More Bitcoin

#35

Post by lalaland1125 »

thepasswordis wrote: post #32

This article is weird. It doesn’t seem to explain why bitcoin “failed”, just seems to suggest that El Salvador is not yet an economic paradise after 8 months. I like what this guy is doing. Sure it could fail. But obviously the SOP has already failed. Good for him and good for the people of El Salvador.

From the article:

> More than 91 percent of Salvadorans want dollars, not bitcoins. The official Chivo payment system was unreliable at launch in September—the kiss of death for a new system. Users joined for the $30 signup bonus, spent it or cashed it out, then didn’t use Chivo again.

Re: Bitcoin Failed in El Salvador. The President Says the Answer Is More Bitcoin

#36

Post by NicoJuicy »

deadalus wrote: post #27
howdydoo wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The author is also the author of the book "Attack of the 50 Foot Blockchain". It seems more like a hit piece than a news article.

David Gerard has an anti-crypto agenda and is a regular on r/buttcoin. He has publicly trashed crypto multiple times. [0] https://old.reddit.com/r/Buttcoin/comments/nwblbp/podcast_pr... [1] https://www.csmonitor.com/Business/2021/0611/In-El-Salvador-... [2] http://blocktribune.com/david-gerard-can-get-long-way-just-b... [3] https://old.reddit.com/r/ethereum/comments/6dkc8w/why_do_we_...

Or just check https://rekt.news if you are open to see additional proof of some of the hacks occuring in crypto/defi land.

Re: Bitcoin Failed in El Salvador. The President Says the Answer Is More Bitcoin

#37

Post by ABeeSea »

lettergram wrote: post #29
ABeeSea wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you point me to a isolationist magazine on geopolitics?

“Globalist” refers to the idea for one world government effectively. Generally, one set of rules, trade, no borders, etc. The opposite is nationalist not isolationist. Ie doing what’s best for ones country and country men, not the world at large. At least in the context being discussed.

So deranged conspiracies only believed by the far-right?

Also you listed “trade” with no qualifier. Is the entire concept of trading a path to one world government? That’s a pretty serious leap in logic.

Re: Bitcoin Failed in El Salvador. The President Says the Answer Is More Bitcoin

#38

Post by JKCalhoun »

deadalus wrote: post #27
howdydoo wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The author is also the author of the book "Attack of the 50 Foot Blockchain". It seems more like a hit piece than a news article.

David Gerard has an anti-crypto agenda and is a regular on r/buttcoin. He has publicly trashed crypto multiple times. [0] https://old.reddit.com/r/Buttcoin/comments/nwblbp/podcast_pr... [1] https://www.csmonitor.com/Business/2021/0611/In-El-Salvador-... [2] http://blocktribune.com/david-gerard-can-get-long-way-just-b... [3] https://old.reddit.com/r/ethereum/comments/6dkc8w/why_do_we_...

Agenda? Hit-piece?

Are people allowed to have opinions any more, allowed to draw conclusions and take a side?

As if Albert Einstein authored anti-quantum hit-pieces, had a classical physics agenda (or choose any other contentious issue in history where people had divided opinions).

Re: Bitcoin Failed in El Salvador. The President Says the Answer Is More Bitcoin

#39

Post by detaro »

CPLX wrote: post #5

> Bukele came onstage to an animation of beaming down from a flying saucer and outlined his plans for Bitcoin City: a new charter city to be built from scratch, centered on bitcoin mining—and powered by a volcano. Bitcoin City would be paid for with the issuance of $1 billion in “volcano bonds,” starting in mid-2022. The 10-year volcano bonds would pay 6.5 percent annual interest. $500 million of the bond revenue wou…

Matt Levine had a good take on it: https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-11-22/be-car... (TL;DR: it's a good marketing play targeting people who want this to be a thing, it's actually better to buy "normal" El Salvador bonds and invest in Bitcoin yourself: the normal bonds give better interest and you'd get the full gains from the bitcoin profit, not just a share)

Re: Bitcoin Failed in El Salvador. The President Says the Answer Is More Bitcoin

#40

Post by jes »

eqmvii wrote: post #26

I’m exhausted by cryptocurrency. There’s a kernel of neat tech innovation and a reasonable argument about monetary policy obliterated by an avalanche of greed, hype, fraud, and magical thinking.

With respect, do you see currencies just consed up out of thin air as free of the avalanche of negatives you mentioned?
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