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Also, you can fully understand the hypothetical use cases in the global south whilst being aware that crypto competes with hegemonic superpowers as a way to sto
by notahacker 4y ago
Also, you can fully understand the hypothetical use cases in the global south whilst being aware that crypto competes with hegemonic superpowers as a way to store wealth there too (and other stable currencies, and lots of other things that hold value and are easy to barter with) in those markets, and generally has fewer or worse on/off ramps for the average person there. People aren't sending money to Coinbase Global Inc because they haven't had access to international money transfers or the ability to store their wealth in anything other than rapidly-depreciating pesos before.
I mean, I'll happily concede that cryptocurrency was something that was actually stable in value, was widely accepted and understood in local markets in the global south so you could buy food, save for your kids education and bribe the border guard with it, then it would be even better than gold earrings, black market banknote swaps, hawala or trusting you would be able to access your offshore account in future. But it isn't, the fact that some people would dearly like it to be that way doesn't make it that way (especially not the "stable in value" part), and there isn't an obvious route for it to be that way.