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Well apparently the people of El Salvador would beg to differ.

frankbreetz 5y ago
i think you mean the president of El Salvador would disagree. it is quite an unpopular policy amounst the people of El Salvador.
- delaaxe 5y ago
  So unpopular that people are protesting in the streets https://twitter.com/Crypto_Daily/status/1432715470902284306/photo/2 https://twitter.com/Crypto_Daily/status/1432715470902284306/...
  - frankbreetz 5y ago
    This is more what I was referring to, I haven't heard of any protests. https://www.reuters.com/technology/majority-salvadorans-do-not-want-bitcoin-poll-shows-2021-09-02/ https://www.reuters.com/technology/majority-salvadorans-do-n...
beardog 5y ago
The gdp per capita of El Salvador is $3798 USD which is about $10.40/day.[1] To have a bitcoin transaction mined within roughly an hour on sep 6 2021 costs $11.44[2], making bitcoin unusable for many Salvadorans, especially for small transactions. Yes, lightning network and centralized payment platforms exist on top of Bitcoin, but these defeat the purpose of bitcoin and add complexity. 1 https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD?locations=SV https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD?location... 2 https://bitcoinfees.co/ https://bitcoinfees.co/
- frankenst1 5y ago
  I would assume that the ability to receive remittances at practically zero fees without any intermediaries and a monetary supply that can't be censored or controlled by the government is more valuable to the people of El Salvador than the fact that they are transferring Bitcoins over a layer 2 network (Lightning Network) instead of the much slower and more expensive layer 1 network (Bitcoin blockchain).
- xur17 5y ago
  > Yes, lightning network and centralized payment platforms exist on top of Bitcoin, but these defeat the purpose of bitcoin and add complexity. It's important to note that the "centralization" of lightning (a statement that I somewhat disagree with, but can understand the basis of) doesn't mean that other parties can steal your money. You the sender decide what route your payment takes, and as such the worst a participant can do is block your payment from arriving at the destination. And, if this occurs, you can just find another route, or open a direct channel to the node you are trying to send to.

i think you mean the president of El Salvador would disagree. it is quite an unpopular policy amounst the people of El Salvador.

delaaxe 5y ago
So unpopular that people are protesting in the streets https://twitter.com/Crypto_Daily/status/1432715470902284306/photo/2 https://twitter.com/Crypto_Daily/status/1432715470902284306/...
- frankbreetz 5y ago
  This is more what I was referring to, I haven't heard of any protests. https://www.reuters.com/technology/majority-salvadorans-do-not-want-bitcoin-poll-shows-2021-09-02/ https://www.reuters.com/technology/majority-salvadorans-do-n...

beardog 5y ago

The gdp per capita of El Salvador is $3798 USD which is about $10.40/day.[1] To have a bitcoin transaction mined within roughly an hour on sep 6 2021 costs $11.44[2], making bitcoin unusable for many Salvadorans, especially for small transactions. Yes, lightning network and centralized payment platforms exist on top of Bitcoin, but these defeat the purpose of bitcoin and add complexity. 1 https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD?locations=SV https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD?location... 2 https://bitcoinfees.co/ https://bitcoinfees.co/

frankenst1 5y ago
I would assume that the ability to receive remittances at practically zero fees without any intermediaries and a monetary supply that can't be censored or controlled by the government is more valuable to the people of El Salvador than the fact that they are transferring Bitcoins over a layer 2 network (Lightning Network) instead of the much slower and more expensive layer 1 network (Bitcoin blockchain).
xur17 5y ago
> Yes, lightning network and centralized payment platforms exist on top of Bitcoin, but these defeat the purpose of bitcoin and add complexity. It's important to note that the "centralization" of lightning (a statement that I somewhat disagree with, but can understand the basis of) doesn't mean that other parties can steal your money. You the sender decide what route your payment takes, and as such the worst a participant can do is block your payment from arriving at the destination. And, if this occurs, you can just find another route, or open a direct channel to the node you are trying to send to.