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Does anyone know if crypto is useful in Venezuela? Essentially, is it a terrible idea to hedge that crypto is better or as good as gold during crisis? I just wa

Does anyone know if crypto is useful in Venezuela? Essentially, is it a terrible idea to hedge that crypto is better or as good as gold during crisis? I just want to put a safety nest somewhere so my family doesn’t starve when the time comes.

mannerheim 6y ago
Supposedly it's being used according to a few articles I've seen, but I've heard the electricity there isn't reliable.
capableweb 6y ago
There seems to be trading happening P2P (human-to-human) in Venezuela at least, so one could assume it has at least marginal usefulness. Here is some published data: https://observablehq.com/@coindesk-research/localbitcoins-paxful-activity-map https://observablehq.com/@coindesk-research/localbitcoins-pa...
aww_dang 6y ago
https://twitter.com/FundacionNanoVE https://twitter.com/FundacionNanoVE https://nano.org.ve/ https://nano.org.ve/ There is a strong Venezuelan presence in the Nano community. Gold vs. cryptocurrency is somewhat controversial. Gold is stable and has a long history of value. Cryptocurrencies are volatile and speculative in comparison. Gold is secure, but a private key or seed is easier to cross borders with. Both have their advantages. Be wary of absolutists.
spoonjim 6y ago
If you don’t want your family to starve in a crisis, invest in non-perishable food.
- gruez 6y ago
  Food expires, is bulky, and is vulnerable to being stolen (or expropriated) if you have a large hoard
  - spoonjim 6y ago
    Cryptocurrency is vulnerable to the situation where the only relevant stores of value are food, water, and weapons.
superbcarrot 6y ago
> is it a terrible idea to hedge that crypto is better or as good as gold during crisis? Cryptocurrencies are still too volatile and untested. Maybe Bitcoin behaves like gold during a crisis, or maybe it's everyone's play money and when times get tough everyone will sell their Bitcoin first. We just don't have historical precedent for it.
- rybosworld 6y ago
  > Cryptocurrencies are still too volatile and untested. Compared to 1000% monthly inflation?
  - lucb1e 6y ago
    Presumably it's a general question and they're not actually from there or they'd know whether cryptocurrencies are used as payment method there (or I misunderstood the question).
shiftpgdn 6y ago
I worked at an oil company from 2013 through 2018. A large contingent of the staff were ex. PDVSA employees (Venezuelan nationals) and we're heavily into crypto. I know a number of them told me that you could send $20-$100 of bitcoin to an address and they would go buy groceries or whatever necessities that were controlled by the government for your family. I know by 2018 they straight up had an app where you could just order anything entirely in crypto.
kemonocode 6y ago
Yes, yes it is. You can look at my previous comment history here on HN but I live in Venezuela and crypto is a very real lifeline for me as I'm considered persona non grata for the rest of the international banking system. My only recourse to keep money that won't devaluate in a matter of days if not hours is to either have it in cash (dangerous and need to know the "right people"), make use of foreign currency-denominated accounts in national banks which would be an extremely foolish endeavor for reasons that should be patently obvious, a tiny amount of frankly dodgy international banks that still do business with Venezuelans... or crypto. In spite of the wild price swings, crypto remains the most reliable alternative among everything I've mentioned.
lentil_soup 6y ago
Venezuelan here. It's not useful because you need actual money to buy food. People want US dollars because they trust them and can use them to buy things inside and outside the country. Crypto adds an additional layer people don't understand and doesn't directly translate to something you can use in shops or for your business.

mannerheim 6y ago

Supposedly it's being used according to a few articles I've seen, but I've heard the electricity there isn't reliable.

capableweb 6y ago

There seems to be trading happening P2P (human-to-human) in Venezuela at least, so one could assume it has at least marginal usefulness. Here is some published data: https://observablehq.com/@coindesk-research/localbitcoins-paxful-activity-map https://observablehq.com/@coindesk-research/localbitcoins-pa...

aww_dang 6y ago

https://twitter.com/FundacionNanoVE https://twitter.com/FundacionNanoVE https://nano.org.ve/ https://nano.org.ve/ There is a strong Venezuelan presence in the Nano community. Gold vs. cryptocurrency is somewhat controversial. Gold is stable and has a long history of value. Cryptocurrencies are volatile and speculative in comparison. Gold is secure, but a private key or seed is easier to cross borders with. Both have their advantages. Be wary of absolutists.

spoonjim 6y ago

If you don’t want your family to starve in a crisis, invest in non-perishable food.

gruez 6y ago
Food expires, is bulky, and is vulnerable to being stolen (or expropriated) if you have a large hoard
- spoonjim 6y ago
  Cryptocurrency is vulnerable to the situation where the only relevant stores of value are food, water, and weapons.

superbcarrot 6y ago

> is it a terrible idea to hedge that crypto is better or as good as gold during crisis? Cryptocurrencies are still too volatile and untested. Maybe Bitcoin behaves like gold during a crisis, or maybe it's everyone's play money and when times get tough everyone will sell their Bitcoin first. We just don't have historical precedent for it.

rybosworld 6y ago
> Cryptocurrencies are still too volatile and untested. Compared to 1000% monthly inflation?
- lucb1e 6y ago
  Presumably it's a general question and they're not actually from there or they'd know whether cryptocurrencies are used as payment method there (or I misunderstood the question).

shiftpgdn 6y ago

I worked at an oil company from 2013 through 2018. A large contingent of the staff were ex. PDVSA employees (Venezuelan nationals) and we're heavily into crypto. I know a number of them told me that you could send $20-$100 of bitcoin to an address and they would go buy groceries or whatever necessities that were controlled by the government for your family. I know by 2018 they straight up had an app where you could just order anything entirely in crypto.

kemonocode 6y ago

Yes, yes it is. You can look at my previous comment history here on HN but I live in Venezuela and crypto is a very real lifeline for me as I'm considered persona non grata for the rest of the international banking system. My only recourse to keep money that won't devaluate in a matter of days if not hours is to either have it in cash (dangerous and need to know the "right people"), make use of foreign currency-denominated accounts in national banks which would be an extremely foolish endeavor for reasons that should be patently obvious, a tiny amount of frankly dodgy international banks that still do business with Venezuelans... or crypto. In spite of the wild price swings, crypto remains the most reliable alternative among everything I've mentioned.

lentil_soup 6y ago

Venezuelan here. It's not useful because you need actual money to buy food. People want US dollars because they trust them and can use them to buy things inside and outside the country. Crypto adds an additional layer people don't understand and doesn't directly translate to something you can use in shops or for your business.