Leveraging Bitcoin to Solve Venezuela’s Hyperinflation
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Re: Leveraging Bitcoin to Solve Venezuela’s Hyperinflation
#2Was this related to the recent 400 million in Bitcoin that was purchased?
Re: Leveraging Bitcoin to Solve Venezuela’s Hyperinflation
#3The government will make Bitcoin the same way illegal as US dollars.
Then they can't easily control Bitcoin.
Then they will increase prison sentences for owning Bitcoins and Bitcoin apps.
Then they will not be able to control that.
Then they will monitor the internet for bitcoin transfers.
Then they will outlaw any encryption.
Then they will send out undercover police who try to pay with Bitcoin.
etc.
No government well let anyone take away their privilege to print money.
Re: Leveraging Bitcoin to Solve Venezuela’s Hyperinflation
#4"Imagine that you could flee Nazi Germany with all of your capital using nothing more than a password in your head"
It's sad so many people know so few things about history. Fleeing with your money was not the problem.
Re: Leveraging Bitcoin to Solve Venezuela’s Hyperinflation
#5This is fantastic. Disasters, while terrible, should be the time to think outside the box. Similar to Puerto Rico and the solar experiment – hopefully Venezuela and Bitcoin will be the proof of concept that convinces the "adults".
Re: Leveraging Bitcoin to Solve Venezuela’s Hyperinflation
#6For crypto currencies, don't you need reliable electricity and internet first?
Re: Leveraging Bitcoin to Solve Venezuela’s Hyperinflation
#7The thought of a very rich man from one of the most developed countries in the world, giving away tons of BTC in an attempt to "solve Venesuela's problems" strikes me as arrogant and naive. The heart is in the right place. But different countries work differently. It would take someone who knows a lot about Venezuela to solve Venezuela's problems.
Take "PlayPump" as a word of caution. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roundabout_PlayPump
Massive charity handouts almost always end in dismal failure. Because the philanthropists don't understand the core problem, and thus the money is inevitably wasted.
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Instead, Bill Gate's model of "Economic Philanthropy" looks like it can truly scale. Bill Gates sells malaria nets and vaccines to the people of Africa. Why?
Because if the customer doesn't want to pay for it, its probably because the customer knows something you don't know. Malaria Nets were the solution: the people of Africa buys it, and that's how we know that its a good solution.
Bitcoin is already a potential solution to the people of Venezuela. If the people of Venezuela believed in Bitcoin, they'd be buying it. They're not dumb. Very likely, for reasons unbeknownst to us, they've chosen to do something else. We have to trust THEIR decision on this. After all, Venezuelan citizens are living in the crisis. They likely know more about their own situation than any Goldman Sachs executive who has lived in the USA.
Alternatively: if BTC is a solution and Venezuelan citizens are buying up BTC, then the problem will solve itself without need of a handout. IIRC, I've heard some stories about some businessmen in Venezuela using BTC before. But I live thousands of miles away: its hard for me to know if its an isolated curiosity or something that really is permeating the nation.
Any valid solution that benefits a Venezuelan Citizen, would allow us to "sell" said solution to those citizens. One-sided charity efforts are often doomed to failure.
Re: Leveraging Bitcoin to Solve Venezuela’s Hyperinflation
#8"Imagine that you could flee Nazi Germany with all of your capital using nothing more than a password in your head" It's sad so many people know so few things about history. Fleeing with your money was not the problem.
Re: Leveraging Bitcoin to Solve Venezuela’s Hyperinflation
#9Suite. Use the imaginary commodity that can't keep it's value to solve inflation because the currency is controlled by a tyrannical government. It's probably easier to overthrow their government than use a currency that will soon be outlawed.
Re: Leveraging Bitcoin to Solve Venezuela’s Hyperinflation
#10Why is this better, or different, than just helping Venezuelans obtain and use the USD that they already want [1]? If it's a matter of government controls, the government will surely apply the same policy to BTC.
I realize that he tried to address this in the article, but the reasons are contrived. And the "$5 wrench attack" simply won't stop when you only give up one wallet.
[1] https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2014/03/24/293874845/...