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Sad that Africa is going to effectively get exploited again by westerners. Let’s be honest those who got in early, that is, westerners, are those who win the mo

Sad that Africa is going to effectively get exploited again by westerners. Let’s be honest those who got in early, that is, westerners, are those who win the most, not Africa. They will learn, like the USA, why you don’t back your currency on things like gold, and coming soon, Bitcoin. This is a completely unnecessary move. If the concerns are inflation they simply could write into their constitution that they cannot print additional money.

MathYouF 5y ago
I'm personally convinced (by no evidence other than game theory, which is what trust in block validators to be honest as a group is based on as well) in cases like these, that there must be people with a huge stake in btc who are essentially bribing legislators to adopt crypto. Why else would they accept as legal tender a currency their government and people don't hold except if the people who do hold it convinced them in some way? Looking forward to the documovies in 15 years of these crypto "investors" flying to CAF and El Salvador and bribing their government officials.
- bally0241 5y ago
  Convinced eh? Sounds like baseless supposition to me.
- ypeterholmes 5y ago
  I highly doubt they were bribed by Bitcoin miners. What's more likely is that BTC is emerging as a global store of value asset, and with the additional advantage that the supply of BTC is not entirely controlled by exploitative global central banking apparatus. Do some googling on what the IMF has done to small countries with their loans, and what happens to small countries when their currency is manipulated.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - MathYouF 5y ago
    You can't deny though that there is an incentive for some, especially hedge funds with massive crypto positions (who are known for not being above doing nefarious things with foreign government officials), to bribe legislators of countries open to the idea to adopt it, to improve their financial asset. Whether or not that is indeed something they're doing, as I mentioned, is pure speculation.
reedjosh 5y ago
> why you don’t back your currency on things like gold How did the West learn this lesson? https://history.state.gov/milestones/1969-1976/nixon-shock https://history.state.gov/milestones/1969-1976/nixon-shock > We must create more and better jobs; we must stop the rise in the cost of living; we must protect the dollar from the attacks of international money speculators.” To achieve the first two goals, he proposed tax cuts and a 90-day freeze on prices and wages; to achieve the third, Nixon directed the suspension of the dollar’s convertibility into gold. Particularly > we must protect the dollar from the attacks of international money speculators In this case the "speculators" speculated that the US didn't have the gold it said it did to back the dollars it had been printing. Protecting the dollar meant we will no longer trade the dollar for gold to protect it, but why would it need protecting if we had the gold to exchange? Sounds to me like gold as a standard wasn't the issue, but printing of dollars without backing.
- jcranmer 5y ago
  I can think of a single case in history where policymakers decided to reverse (as you put it) "printing of dollars without backing" in favor of maintaining a peg to the gold standard (or equivalent), and probably over a dozen cases where it was the gold standard that was lost. While I can understand why something like the gold standard serving as a fiscal straitjacket could find appeal, I can't understand why people ignore the repeated demonstrations of its ineffectiveness in that role.
  - reedjosh 5y ago
    > and probably over a dozen cases where it was the gold standard that was lost. This doesn't prove that the gold standard was bad for the people. Governments grow until they collapse. That growth eventually is constrained by the inability to print gold. This is particularly obvious if you consider that dropping gold and silver from currency is near the first thing to happen when war starts. Inflation is a hidden tax. Governments use it to continue their largess beyond what would be possible with direct taxation. > I can think of a single case in history where policymakers decided to reverse Everyone knows politicians are liars and cheats. Why would the actions of politicians or those appointed by them be a signal of virtue or correctness?
mistrial9 5y ago
> Sad that Africa is going to effectively get exploited again by westerners Robert Mugabe, your publicist needs a raise, again https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Mugabe https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Mugabe
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
psychlops 5y ago
The article isn't about controlling inflation or floating currencies, but access to new technology.
BlueMatter5 5y ago
frontman1988 5y ago
Not only westerners even China is interested this time. Central Africa has so many minerals that they don't have any hope of being left alone in the coming future.
landemva 5y ago
They are being exploited by the current tie to France and requirements for keeping reserves in French Treasury. In two words: ongoing colonialism. Bitcoin allows for choice.

MathYouF 5y ago

I'm personally convinced (by no evidence other than game theory, which is what trust in block validators to be honest as a group is based on as well) in cases like these, that there must be people with a huge stake in btc who are essentially bribing legislators to adopt crypto. Why else would they accept as legal tender a currency their government and people don't hold except if the people who do hold it convinced them in some way? Looking forward to the documovies in 15 years of these crypto "investors" flying to CAF and El Salvador and bribing their government officials.

bally0241 5y ago
Convinced eh? Sounds like baseless supposition to me.
ypeterholmes 5y ago
I highly doubt they were bribed by Bitcoin miners. What's more likely is that BTC is emerging as a global store of value asset, and with the additional advantage that the supply of BTC is not entirely controlled by exploitative global central banking apparatus. Do some googling on what the IMF has done to small countries with their loans, and what happens to small countries when their currency is manipulated.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- MathYouF 5y ago
  You can't deny though that there is an incentive for some, especially hedge funds with massive crypto positions (who are known for not being above doing nefarious things with foreign government officials), to bribe legislators of countries open to the idea to adopt it, to improve their financial asset. Whether or not that is indeed something they're doing, as I mentioned, is pure speculation.

reedjosh 5y ago

> why you don’t back your currency on things like gold How did the West learn this lesson? https://history.state.gov/milestones/1969-1976/nixon-shock https://history.state.gov/milestones/1969-1976/nixon-shock > We must create more and better jobs; we must stop the rise in the cost of living; we must protect the dollar from the attacks of international money speculators.” To achieve the first two goals, he proposed tax cuts and a 90-day freeze on prices and wages; to achieve the third, Nixon directed the suspension of the dollar’s convertibility into gold. Particularly > we must protect the dollar from the attacks of international money speculators In this case the "speculators" speculated that the US didn't have the gold it said it did to back the dollars it had been printing. Protecting the dollar meant we will no longer trade the dollar for gold to protect it, but why would it need protecting if we had the gold to exchange? Sounds to me like gold as a standard wasn't the issue, but printing of dollars without backing.

jcranmer 5y ago
I can think of a single case in history where policymakers decided to reverse (as you put it) "printing of dollars without backing" in favor of maintaining a peg to the gold standard (or equivalent), and probably over a dozen cases where it was the gold standard that was lost. While I can understand why something like the gold standard serving as a fiscal straitjacket could find appeal, I can't understand why people ignore the repeated demonstrations of its ineffectiveness in that role.
- reedjosh 5y ago
  > and probably over a dozen cases where it was the gold standard that was lost. This doesn't prove that the gold standard was bad for the people. Governments grow until they collapse. That growth eventually is constrained by the inability to print gold. This is particularly obvious if you consider that dropping gold and silver from currency is near the first thing to happen when war starts. Inflation is a hidden tax. Governments use it to continue their largess beyond what would be possible with direct taxation. > I can think of a single case in history where policymakers decided to reverse Everyone knows politicians are liars and cheats. Why would the actions of politicians or those appointed by them be a signal of virtue or correctness?

mistrial9 5y ago

> Sad that Africa is going to effectively get exploited again by westerners Robert Mugabe, your publicist needs a raise, again https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Mugabe https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Mugabe

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

psychlops 5y ago

The article isn't about controlling inflation or floating currencies, but access to new technology.

BlueMatter5 5y ago

frontman1988 5y ago

Not only westerners even China is interested this time. Central Africa has so many minerals that they don't have any hope of being left alone in the coming future.

landemva 5y ago

They are being exploited by the current tie to France and requirements for keeping reserves in French Treasury. In two words: ongoing colonialism. Bitcoin allows for choice.