5 ms·

And do what with those ? move to El Salvador ?

by cruano 5y ago

tornato7 5y ago
According to news reports, crypto is being bought all over Ukraine right now. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/24/ukranian-bank-suspends-e-cash-transfers-bolstering-crypto-use-case.html https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/24/ukranian-bank-suspends-e-cas...
- kragen 5y ago
  I guess this is another answer to "What is Bitcoin good for?" It's good when (quoting the article) your country's central bank suspends electronic cash transfers, suspends the foreign exchange market, limits cash withdrawals, and prohibits the issuance of foreign currency from retail bank accounts, because you're being invaded by Russia and your government has imposed martial law. Also apparently fighting-age Ukrainian men are prohibited from leaving Ukraine right now. Also https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/25/4point1-million-in-cryptocurrency-funneled-to-ukrainian-military-since-russia-invaded.html https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/25/4point1-million-in-cryptocur... says, "$4.1 million in cryptocurrency funneled to Ukrainian military since Russia invaded," by which it means "nongovernmental organizations and volunteer groups," aka militias or paramilitary troops, because the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense does not "use other payment systems ('Webmoney,' 'Bitcoin,' 'PayPal,' etc.)." (Though apparently some of the money is being used to buy materiel to give to the regular army.) So I guess Bitcoin is also good for sending funding to paramilitary militias in countries that are being invaded by much stronger armies. Interestingly the article omits to mention that the most prominent volunteer groups like the Azov Battalion are neo-Nazis, even according to anti-Russian sources like https://crimethinc.com/2022/02/15/war-and-anarchists-anti-authoritarian-perspectives-in-ukraine https://crimethinc.com/2022/02/15/war-and-anarchists-anti-au.... Previously: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30447749 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30447749 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30435383 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30435383
adventured 5y ago
Escape Ukraine and utilize the crypto when you get to Poland or similar. That's the only realistic option if Russia is pulling a full invasion / occupation.
danuker 5y ago
Hopefully they will be accepted by other individuals, where credit cards are not working and the national currency is in freefall.
- kragen 5y ago
  It looks like maybe the hryvnia has lost 5% of its value over the last year (and 12% over the last three months)? The bigger issue is that it's likely that Russia will overthrow its government before April (50% probability) and after that it's anybody's guess what the new regime will do with the hryvnia. https://tradingeconomics.com/ukraine/currency https://tradingeconomics.com/ukraine/currency says 29.7 hryvnia to the dollar at the moment. I mean, I'm not saying cryptocurrency is a bad idea, but the hryvnia doesn't seem as totally pointless as you suggest.
  - kragen 5y ago
    According to https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/24/ukranian-bank-suspends-e-cash-transfers-bolstering-crypto-use-case.html https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/24/ukranian-bank-suspends-e-cas... foreign exchange in Ukraine is mostly suspended though, and already was when I made my comment above, so the price in markets that are still open won't reflect what you see on the ground in Ukraine; the Tether price cited (32 hryvnia) suggests an additional 9% loss since yesterday, which does qualify as "free fall" if it continues.

And do what with those ? move to El Salvador ?

by cruano 5y ago

And do what with those ? move to El Salvador ?

According to news reports, crypto is being bought all over Ukraine right now. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/24/ukranian-bank-suspends-e-cash-transfers-bolstering-crypto-use-case.html https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/24/ukranian-bank-suspends-e-cas...

kragen 5y ago
I guess this is another answer to "What is Bitcoin good for?" It's good when (quoting the article) your country's central bank suspends electronic cash transfers, suspends the foreign exchange market, limits cash withdrawals, and prohibits the issuance of foreign currency from retail bank accounts, because you're being invaded by Russia and your government has imposed martial law. Also apparently fighting-age Ukrainian men are prohibited from leaving Ukraine right now. Also https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/25/4point1-million-in-cryptocurrency-funneled-to-ukrainian-military-since-russia-invaded.html https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/25/4point1-million-in-cryptocur... says, "$4.1 million in cryptocurrency funneled to Ukrainian military since Russia invaded," by which it means "nongovernmental organizations and volunteer groups," aka militias or paramilitary troops, because the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense does not "use other payment systems ('Webmoney,' 'Bitcoin,' 'PayPal,' etc.)." (Though apparently some of the money is being used to buy materiel to give to the regular army.) So I guess Bitcoin is also good for sending funding to paramilitary militias in countries that are being invaded by much stronger armies. Interestingly the article omits to mention that the most prominent volunteer groups like the Azov Battalion are neo-Nazis, even according to anti-Russian sources like https://crimethinc.com/2022/02/15/war-and-anarchists-anti-authoritarian-perspectives-in-ukraine https://crimethinc.com/2022/02/15/war-and-anarchists-anti-au.... Previously: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30447749 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30447749 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30435383 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30435383

adventured 5y ago

Escape Ukraine and utilize the crypto when you get to Poland or similar. That's the only realistic option if Russia is pulling a full invasion / occupation.

danuker 5y ago

Hopefully they will be accepted by other individuals, where credit cards are not working and the national currency is in freefall.

kragen 5y ago
It looks like maybe the hryvnia has lost 5% of its value over the last year (and 12% over the last three months)? The bigger issue is that it's likely that Russia will overthrow its government before April (50% probability) and after that it's anybody's guess what the new regime will do with the hryvnia. https://tradingeconomics.com/ukraine/currency https://tradingeconomics.com/ukraine/currency says 29.7 hryvnia to the dollar at the moment. I mean, I'm not saying cryptocurrency is a bad idea, but the hryvnia doesn't seem as totally pointless as you suggest.
- kragen 5y ago
  According to https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/24/ukranian-bank-suspends-e-cash-transfers-bolstering-crypto-use-case.html https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/24/ukranian-bank-suspends-e-cas... foreign exchange in Ukraine is mostly suspended though, and already was when I made my comment above, so the price in markets that are still open won't reflect what you see on the ground in Ukraine; the Tether price cited (32 hryvnia) suggests an additional 9% loss since yesterday, which does qualify as "free fall" if it continues.