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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 dram

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 6y ago
In what concrete way would this situation be made better with a stable currency?
- nyolfen 6y ago
  kind of hard to import goods or even leave the country when you are paid in toilet paper
  - arcticbull 6y ago
    Certainly if you're sanctioned. Unless the MO is that Amazon launches fly-by-night dead drops paid for in crypto?
    - nyolfen 6y ago
      our sanctions do not prevent civilians from importing food, that is a function of worthless money
      - arcticbull 6y 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...

arcticbull 6y ago

In what concrete way would this situation be made better with a stable currency?

nyolfen 6y ago
kind of hard to import goods or even leave the country when you are paid in toilet paper
- arcticbull 6y ago
  Certainly if you're sanctioned. Unless the MO is that Amazon launches fly-by-night dead drops paid for in crypto?
  - nyolfen 6y ago
    our sanctions do not prevent civilians from importing food, that is a function of worthless money
    - arcticbull 6y 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...