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Bitcoin was a saviour for many ordingary folk in Venezuela during the hyperinflation crisis. It worked as intended. https://www.dw.com/en/venezuelans-try-to-be

Bitcoin was a saviour for many ordingary folk in Venezuela during the hyperinflation crisis. It worked as intended. https://www.dw.com/en/venezuelans-try-to-beat-hyperinflation-with-cryptocurrency-revolution/a-57219083 https://www.dw.com/en/venezuelans-try-to-beat-hyperinflation... Why would a country embargoed by the USA use USD?

arcticbull 5y ago
Your link doesn't mean much, as after all 66% of all transactions in Venezuela are USD denominated now per my link. The people of Venezuela had the choice: BTC or USD. They spoke, and they said USD. Likely only the wealthy laundering money, probably connected to the Maduro government are playing BTC. Only certain entities and individuals connected to the Maduro government are under sanctions, not everyone in Venezuela - which is why USD remittances are possible in the first place. Folks are using USD because Bitcoin is wildly inappropriate for use as a currency. [edit] Consider that at the time that article was written the average BTC transaction fee with multiple months minimum wage for the average Venezeulan.
notahacker 5y ago
Because Venezuelans have been buying and selling things locally in black market dollars for decades, and even if they want to hold their dollars in offshore accounts, the US isn't interested in stopping them unless they're a regime insider (quite the opposite actually) As for Maduro, he's just trying to stop capital flight.
lottin 5y ago
> Bitcoin was a saviour for many ordingary folk in Venezuela during the hyperinflation crisis. During a hyperinflation crisis everything that isn't money appreciates rapidly by definition. This means the often touted usefulness of bitcoin as "inflation hedge" is rather meaningless, because literally any asset that isn't money is an "inflation hedge". The shoes that I'm wearing right now are an "inflation hedge" just as good as bitcoin. In fact they're a better inflation hedge than bitcoin because their price is more predictable.

arcticbull 5y ago

Your link doesn't mean much, as after all 66% of all transactions in Venezuela are USD denominated now per my link. The people of Venezuela had the choice: BTC or USD. They spoke, and they said USD. Likely only the wealthy laundering money, probably connected to the Maduro government are playing BTC. Only certain entities and individuals connected to the Maduro government are under sanctions, not everyone in Venezuela - which is why USD remittances are possible in the first place. Folks are using USD because Bitcoin is wildly inappropriate for use as a currency. [edit] Consider that at the time that article was written the average BTC transaction fee with multiple months minimum wage for the average Venezeulan.

notahacker 5y ago

Because Venezuelans have been buying and selling things locally in black market dollars for decades, and even if they want to hold their dollars in offshore accounts, the US isn't interested in stopping them unless they're a regime insider (quite the opposite actually) As for Maduro, he's just trying to stop capital flight.

lottin 5y ago

> Bitcoin was a saviour for many ordingary folk in Venezuela during the hyperinflation crisis. During a hyperinflation crisis everything that isn't money appreciates rapidly by definition. This means the often touted usefulness of bitcoin as "inflation hedge" is rather meaningless, because literally any asset that isn't money is an "inflation hedge". The shoes that I'm wearing right now are an "inflation hedge" just as good as bitcoin. In fact they're a better inflation hedge than bitcoin because their price is more predictable.