4 ms·

Nowadays, I don't really discuss Bitcoin anymore with anyone. The people who need it the most will ask questions like: "How can I send money from the EU to the

Nowadays, I don't really discuss Bitcoin anymore with anyone. The people who need it the most will ask questions like: "How can I send money from the EU to the Dominican Republic without paying 25% 'banking commissions'?" or "How can I help my mother in Jakarta to get money quickly?" and totally organically, we come to the conclusion that Bitcoin is the answer... We in the West tend to be blind from the problems and solutions that the rest of humanity has found by using bitcoin... See also: https://bitcoinmagazine.com/culture/check-your-financial-privilege https://bitcoinmagazine.com/culture/check-your-financial-pri...

shkkmo 5y ago
Funny, because when I lived in the Dominican Republic, not a single one of the people I knew used Bitcoin to transfer money from the EU to the DR (and that wasn't for lacking of knowing people doing that.) Meanwhile, overall computer literacy and even access to a computer was a massive challenge for many people in that country.
- wcfields 5y ago
  Yeah, because with transfering money via Western Union you have one problem: they take a cut, but the person on the other end gets fiat in their local currency and you pay in your local currency. With sending bitcoin you have many more problems: converting your local currency to bitcoin, and if you're like 99% of regular people using a hot-wallet like Coinbase and they take a cut to buy bitcoin, waiting for that to clear, sending it to another bitcoin address, waiting for that to clear, then the person on the other end has to cash out. Is there a coinbase-like in DR? If we're talking about underbanked, then how do they get their money? Is there a window for this coinbase-like thing that will pay out in fiat of the local currency? I've seen plenty of bitcoin ATMs around my area, but none are for withdrawal.

4 ms·

Nowadays, I don't really discuss Bitcoin anymore with anyone. The people who need it the most will ask questions like: "How can I send money from the EU to the

by janandonly 5y ago

shkkmo 5y ago
Funny, because when I lived in the Dominican Republic, not a single one of the people I knew used Bitcoin to transfer money from the EU to the DR (and that wasn't for lacking of knowing people doing that.) Meanwhile, overall computer literacy and even access to a computer was a massive challenge for many people in that country.
- wcfields 5y ago
  Yeah, because with transfering money via Western Union you have one problem: they take a cut, but the person on the other end gets fiat in their local currency and you pay in your local currency. With sending bitcoin you have many more problems: converting your local currency to bitcoin, and if you're like 99% of regular people using a hot-wallet like Coinbase and they take a cut to buy bitcoin, waiting for that to clear, sending it to another bitcoin address, waiting for that to clear, then the person on the other end has to cash out. Is there a coinbase-like in DR? If we're talking about underbanked, then how do they get their money? Is there a window for this coinbase-like thing that will pay out in fiat of the local currency? I've seen plenty of bitcoin ATMs around my area, but none are for withdrawal.