Live data from Hacker News

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

nbcnews.com

141–150 of 394 posts

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

#141
Congratulations El Salvador on replacing the Federal Reserve with Paolo Ardoino's unlimited Bahamian money printer (note that all executives at Tether received DOJ target letters for bank fraud recently [1] - and are banned from doing business in New York [2]), and letting your exchange rate be managed by Alameda Research and Cumberland/DRW [3].

I can't imagine this going poorly in any way what so ever.

So join me and Bukele in raising a big ol' middle finger to the IMF. [4]

Maybe next they can move to Bitfinex Securities, a Kazakstan corporation, to manage their stock exchange! [5]

[edit] I mean, holy shit, what did I even write? This truly is the dumbest timeline. Well, second dumbest - after all the entire country of Albania got swept up in Ponzi schemes, jailed their finance minister and had a civil war over it. You know what they say about history rhyming. [6]

[1] https://fortune.com/2021/07/26/tether-crypto-bank-fraud-doj-...

[2] https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2021/attorney-general-james-...

[3] https://protos.com/tether-minted-usdt-stablecoin-crypto-two-...

[4] https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210610-imf-warns-of-...

[5] https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitfinex-launches-security-to...

[6] https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2000/03/jarvis.ht...

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

#142
post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The "problems" you've listed have been very clearly debated for the past 5 years. You can find answers. Youre just repeating talking points.

Please point me to good answers on why proof of work is a reasonable way to run a currency

Security

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

#143
post #22

> To warm up a skeptical public, Bukele has promised every citizen $30 in bitcoin if they sign up for a government digital wallet. Ahead of the launch, El Salvador bought 400 bitcoins, Bukele said, helping drive the currency price above $52,000 for the first time since May. > In the early hours of Tuesday the wallet had not appeared on Apple Inc., Google and Huawei’s app download platforms, however, prompting a serie…

You need a DUI (Documento Único de Identidad) or Passport number for the Chivo wallet.

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

#146
post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

I think awful is how the banks of the developed world are earning money with the poorest. The fees for remitance make up for a large portion of the el salvadors GDP. The developed world is responsible for climate change, so I guess the poorest have their right to use their money how they want and not in the way some banks or you consider it. The impact of the lightning network on energy consumption is even neglible..…

In most cases, economic transactions are beneficial for both parties. Yes, banks are "earning money with the poorest", but only because banks and literally every business engage in activities which (ideally) earn them money. Right now, the poor have a choice of using a banks service, or to not use it. The bank could, I guess, not offer services to the poor, but that seems like you're removing choices from the poor, not protecting them. They don't hunt down poor people and make them use their services. Yes, the poor and rich alike have the right to use their money how they see fit. But I'm curious - if I have a pile of $20 bills here in Florida, how exactly do I 'use it how I want' by letting my grandmom in El Salvador buy food at the local grocer?

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

#147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yea, best to troll on Twitter than fix your country that has the literal highest homicide rate in the world. Murder good for Bitcoin?

A middle finger to the IMF sharks is a good start to fix a country.

> A middle finger to the IMF sharks is a good start to fix a country.

On the one hand, I’m no IMF fan and appreciate how that abstractly could be part of the beginning of a better fix than typically comes of working with the IMF.

On the other hand, in practice it seems usually to be part of a flag-waving, nationalist, foreigners-are-the-problem distraction for regime leaders implementing either looting the country or tightening an authoritarian fist around it under the guise of economic/financial reforms not beholden to foreigners (but any of whose bad effects will be blamed on foreign interference.)

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

#148
post #99

Monetary Policy. Can someone explain how a country plans to implement a monetary policy (e.g. inject new currency during a recession to fund expansion) when they don’t control their national currency (Bitcoin).

El Salvador already does not control its own currency; it has been using USD since 2001. Adding BTC doesn't change anything in that regard.

BTW Panama has been on USD since 1903.

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

#149
post #99

Monetary Policy. Can someone explain how a country plans to implement a monetary policy (e.g. inject new currency during a recession to fund expansion) when they don’t control their national currency (Bitcoin).

El Salvador might be ahead of the curve here on learning to deal with (a lack of) control over their monetary policy in this situation because prior to the addition of this second legal tender the country was already fully dollarized[1]. They switched from the Salvadoran colón to the US Dollar in 2001[2].

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Currency_substitution

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvadoran_col%C3%B3n

Post reply on HN