6 ms·

"If only they did this!" -- that's not a solution. The goal is to prevent this from even being possible in the first place. There are very real challenges from

by arberx 5y ago

"If only they did this!" -- that's not a solution. The goal is to prevent this from even being possible in the first place. There are very real challenges from inflationary monetary supplies in countries like Argentina, Turkey, Venezuela and notably Zimbabwe.

arcticbull 5y ago
When you have a bad government, the currency is the least of your problems. When you resolve the government, the currency is no longer a problem. Seriously, in Venezuela there have been recently shortages of: milk, meat, coffee, rice, oil, precooked flour, butter, toilet paper, personal hygiene products and medicines. Some Venezuelans have resorted to eating wild fruit and garbage [1]. Somehow resolving inflation through a cryptocurrency with $50 transaction fees that loses 27% of its value in one week every few months doesn't change any of that. It's just a different set of problems. However, overthrowing the government will resolve both issues. Sometimes there are no easy answers. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shortages_in_Venezuela https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shortages_in_Venezuela
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- nyolfen 5y ago
  being able to save money is a basic affordance that many in despotic monetary regimes are deprived of -- this extends far beyond venezuela, which is just a dramatic example. defecting from a debased currency to discipline abusive central banks is democratic power. "just overthrow the government bro" is cold comfort and ridiculously condescending to the ordinary people who are purely victims of these situations.
  - arcticbull 5y ago
    In what concrete way would this situation be made better with a stable currency?
    - nyolfen 5y ago
      kind of hard to import goods or even leave the country when you are paid in toilet paper
      - arcticbull 5y ago
        Certainly if you're sanctioned. Unless the MO is that Amazon launches fly-by-night dead drops paid for in crypto?
        nyolfen 5y ago
        our sanctions do not prevent civilians from importing food, that is a function of worthless money
        arcticbull 5y ago
        Is there any reason that Venezuelans couldn't be paid in USD for their exports? After all, they can trade internationally, so why not buy USD instead? [edit] And in fact it appears that Venezuela is moving in that direction. Domestic banks are already allowed to offer USD denominated accounts, and the government is making it easier to use [1]. It's not a surprise as of course, the dollar is a much better currency. In fact as the article points out it is estimated 66% of transactions in Venezuela are now conducted using the US dollar. Once that gets to 100%, will you concede that "Venezuela" wasn't ever a great talking point? After all it's clear, the people have spoken: economic activity in USD is preferred over BTC in Venezuela by an absolute landslide. Is this not a scathing indictment of BTC and crypto in general? In a failed state with hyperinflation - a flagship use case - the population was given many options, including both BTC and USD. They picked USD. [1] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-13/venezuela-plans-to-expand-use-of-foreign-currency-bank-accounts https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-13/venezuela...

by arberx 5y ago

arcticbull 5y ago

When you have a bad government, the currency is the least of your problems. When you resolve the government, the currency is no longer a problem. Seriously, in Venezuela there have been recently shortages of: milk, meat, coffee, rice, oil, precooked flour, butter, toilet paper, personal hygiene products and medicines. Some Venezuelans have resorted to eating wild fruit and garbage [1]. Somehow resolving inflation through a cryptocurrency with $50 transaction fees that loses 27% of its value in one week every few months doesn't change any of that. It's just a different set of problems. However, overthrowing the government will resolve both issues. Sometimes there are no easy answers. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shortages_in_Venezuela https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shortages_in_Venezuela

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
nyolfen 5y ago
being able to save money is a basic affordance that many in despotic monetary regimes are deprived of -- this extends far beyond venezuela, which is just a dramatic example. defecting from a debased currency to discipline abusive central banks is democratic power. "just overthrow the government bro" is cold comfort and ridiculously condescending to the ordinary people who are purely victims of these situations.
- arcticbull 5y ago
  In what concrete way would this situation be made better with a stable currency?
  - nyolfen 5y ago
    kind of hard to import goods or even leave the country when you are paid in toilet paper
    - arcticbull 5y ago
      Certainly if you're sanctioned. Unless the MO is that Amazon launches fly-by-night dead drops paid for in crypto?
      - nyolfen 5y ago
        our sanctions do not prevent civilians from importing food, that is a function of worthless money
        arcticbull 5y ago
        Is there any reason that Venezuelans couldn't be paid in USD for their exports? After all, they can trade internationally, so why not buy USD instead? [edit] And in fact it appears that Venezuela is moving in that direction. Domestic banks are already allowed to offer USD denominated accounts, and the government is making it easier to use [1]. It's not a surprise as of course, the dollar is a much better currency. In fact as the article points out it is estimated 66% of transactions in Venezuela are now conducted using the US dollar. Once that gets to 100%, will you concede that "Venezuela" wasn't ever a great talking point? After all it's clear, the people have spoken: economic activity in USD is preferred over BTC in Venezuela by an absolute landslide. Is this not a scathing indictment of BTC and crypto in general? In a failed state with hyperinflation - a flagship use case - the population was given many options, including both BTC and USD. They picked USD. [1] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-13/venezuela-plans-to-expand-use-of-foreign-currency-bank-accounts https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-13/venezuela...