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There is a popular theory in cryptocurrency circles that many Venezuelans are turning to Bitcoin as a way to escape inflation of the Bolivar. Evidence supportin

There is a popular theory in cryptocurrency circles that many Venezuelans are turning to Bitcoin as a way to escape inflation of the Bolivar. Evidence supporting this theory seems to be scant, however.

coderintherye 6y ago
If you are interested in this, GiveCrypto has been experimenting with direct crypto transfers in Venezuela: https://medium.com/givecrypto https://medium.com/givecrypto Results are mixed, but there is some movement.
sushid 6y ago
Yeah escaping inflation with a volatile cryptocurrency seems unintuitive for me. You're probably better off with a stablecoin if anything.
- gus_massa 6y ago
  [Hi from Argentina!] A volatile cryptocurrency can go up or down. A currency with a 2000% annual inflation can only go down. Here in 1990 we get Pesos that was something like a stablecoin. The Economy Minister said "One Peso, [equal to] one Dollar". Ten year later the President said "The person who deposited dollars [in the bank] will receive dollars". Then ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998%E2%80%932002_Argentine_great_depression#End_of_fixed_exchange_rate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998%E2%80%932002_Argentine_gr...
  - sushid 6y ago
    I get that but again, it's not like these folks want to speculate with their life savings, right? If that's the case, it seems like a stablecoin would be the right choice rather than BTC.
    - gus_massa 6y ago
      My guess is that they are using that for the working money of the business, that they keep only for a week or a month. (A 2000% annual inflation is almost 5% daily, so if you have to keep the money for two days it is better to convert to something else even if the conversion has a 10% spread.) For long term storage, my guess is that they get some real dollars and keep them under the mattress or buy some real state. [We never had here in Argentina this level of inflation for a so long time, so I have to guess. It is weird, because most of the time I can just say "Been there, done that.", but this is an exception.]

coderintherye 6y ago

If you are interested in this, GiveCrypto has been experimenting with direct crypto transfers in Venezuela: https://medium.com/givecrypto https://medium.com/givecrypto Results are mixed, but there is some movement.

sushid 6y ago

Yeah escaping inflation with a volatile cryptocurrency seems unintuitive for me. You're probably better off with a stablecoin if anything.

gus_massa 6y ago
[Hi from Argentina!] A volatile cryptocurrency can go up or down. A currency with a 2000% annual inflation can only go down. Here in 1990 we get Pesos that was something like a stablecoin. The Economy Minister said "One Peso, [equal to] one Dollar". Ten year later the President said "The person who deposited dollars [in the bank] will receive dollars". Then ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998%E2%80%932002_Argentine_great_depression#End_of_fixed_exchange_rate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998%E2%80%932002_Argentine_gr...
- sushid 6y ago
  I get that but again, it's not like these folks want to speculate with their life savings, right? If that's the case, it seems like a stablecoin would be the right choice rather than BTC.
  - gus_massa 6y ago
    My guess is that they are using that for the working money of the business, that they keep only for a week or a month. (A 2000% annual inflation is almost 5% daily, so if you have to keep the money for two days it is better to convert to something else even if the conversion has a 10% spread.) For long term storage, my guess is that they get some real dollars and keep them under the mattress or buy some real state. [We never had here in Argentina this level of inflation for a so long time, so I have to guess. It is weird, because most of the time I can just say "Been there, done that.", but this is an exception.]