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Bitcoin is the fastest path. I will spend the time explaining if someone asks for it.

by washedup 2y ago

ThrowawayTestr 2y ago
Please do.
- washedup 2y ago
  1. Financial Inclusion: Many Africans lack access to traditional banking services. Bitcoin provides an alternative financial system that is accessible to anyone with a smartphone, enabling people to participate in the global economy without needing a bank account. 2. Remittances: Bitcoin facilitates cheaper and faster international remittances. Traditional remittance services often charge high fees and take several days to process. Bitcoin transactions are generally quicker and can be less expensive, helping migrants send money back home more efficiently. 3. Inflation Hedge: In countries with high inflation rates and unstable currencies, Bitcoin can serve as a store of value. People can convert their local currency to Bitcoin to protect their savings from devaluation. 4. Reverse Income Inequality: Income inequality is often tied with inflation. A hard asset like Bitcoin would help to distribute some wealth. For all of these reasons, many Africans are already investing in Bitcoin. Bitcoin as a capital asset will help fund infrastructure/education etc
  - jjtheblunt 2y ago
    what fraction of Africans have a smartphone? why, for those with a smartphone, wouldn't they just log into citibank.com or whatever, instead of a bitcoin blockchain app? There's nothing inexpensive about bitcoin, in the big picture. you seem to only be hoping that the organizations running the electricity into servers are providing free or super cheap banking to users, i.e., they're eating the massive expense of bitcoin over, say, hosting MySQL on trhifty digital ocean or azure or aws. is that correct understanding of what you mean? How is bitcoin a hard asset? > many Africans are already investing in Bitcoin. do you have a citation for that assertion? i have not found one.
  - robertlagrant 2y ago
    Just some thoughts on this: 1. Africans already use mobile banking services that don't even need a smartphone, via USSD[0]. This started almost 20 years ago[1]. Once you have a smartphone you can use loads of different banks, so you don't need Bitcoin for that. 2. This is probably true, yes. 3 and 4 - they seem to be the same point. Other currencies such as USD or GBP might be better value stores, given their relative security. But people in poverty aren't going to be buying Bitcoin or pounds, and if they are it's a gamble. Maybe middle classes, or people with mid-level government jobs who already have their Audi Q7, might a bit, it's true. But that's not a pro-poverty scenario. Some off the cuff counterpoints are: 1. Getting your money out may be a problem. Banks are insured up to a value. 2. Where's my wallet? Just on my smartphone? In that case, if it breaks or I lose it, or it's stolen, I lose my money? Or in an exchange? In that case, it's not my coins, and any of numerous well-known failures[2] might mean I lose them forever. 3. And a meta point: people who like Bitcoin own Bitcoin. It's like talking to someone in a pyramid scheme. Of course Herbalife is the best way to lose weight. Of course Amway make the best cleaning products, Jeremy. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unstructured_Supplementary_Service_Data https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unstructured_Supplementary_Ser... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-Pesa https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-Pesa [2] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-63704034 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-63704034
  - zie 2y ago
    As I understand it: 1 and 2 are already done with phone minutes in many, many parts of the African continent. Should phone minutes be currency? probably not, but arguably it's better than Bitcoin, at least the value is easy to understand. With bitcoin's volatility I'm not sure how you can believe #3 is even remotely true. Bitcoin is a hard asset? What exactly is your definition of "Hard Asset"? As I think we are talking about very, very different things. Here is my definition for comparison: A hard asset refers to a tangible asset or resource with fundamental value. Think productive farm animals, vehicles, things of that nature.

Bitcoin is the fastest path. I will spend the time explaining if someone asks for it.

ThrowawayTestr 2y ago

Please do.

washedup 2y ago
1. Financial Inclusion: Many Africans lack access to traditional banking services. Bitcoin provides an alternative financial system that is accessible to anyone with a smartphone, enabling people to participate in the global economy without needing a bank account. 2. Remittances: Bitcoin facilitates cheaper and faster international remittances. Traditional remittance services often charge high fees and take several days to process. Bitcoin transactions are generally quicker and can be less expensive, helping migrants send money back home more efficiently. 3. Inflation Hedge: In countries with high inflation rates and unstable currencies, Bitcoin can serve as a store of value. People can convert their local currency to Bitcoin to protect their savings from devaluation. 4. Reverse Income Inequality: Income inequality is often tied with inflation. A hard asset like Bitcoin would help to distribute some wealth. For all of these reasons, many Africans are already investing in Bitcoin. Bitcoin as a capital asset will help fund infrastructure/education etc
- jjtheblunt 2y ago
  what fraction of Africans have a smartphone? why, for those with a smartphone, wouldn't they just log into citibank.com or whatever, instead of a bitcoin blockchain app? There's nothing inexpensive about bitcoin, in the big picture. you seem to only be hoping that the organizations running the electricity into servers are providing free or super cheap banking to users, i.e., they're eating the massive expense of bitcoin over, say, hosting MySQL on trhifty digital ocean or azure or aws. is that correct understanding of what you mean? How is bitcoin a hard asset? > many Africans are already investing in Bitcoin. do you have a citation for that assertion? i have not found one.
- robertlagrant 2y ago
  Just some thoughts on this: 1. Africans already use mobile banking services that don't even need a smartphone, via USSD[0]. This started almost 20 years ago[1]. Once you have a smartphone you can use loads of different banks, so you don't need Bitcoin for that. 2. This is probably true, yes. 3 and 4 - they seem to be the same point. Other currencies such as USD or GBP might be better value stores, given their relative security. But people in poverty aren't going to be buying Bitcoin or pounds, and if they are it's a gamble. Maybe middle classes, or people with mid-level government jobs who already have their Audi Q7, might a bit, it's true. But that's not a pro-poverty scenario. Some off the cuff counterpoints are: 1. Getting your money out may be a problem. Banks are insured up to a value. 2. Where's my wallet? Just on my smartphone? In that case, if it breaks or I lose it, or it's stolen, I lose my money? Or in an exchange? In that case, it's not my coins, and any of numerous well-known failures[2] might mean I lose them forever. 3. And a meta point: people who like Bitcoin own Bitcoin. It's like talking to someone in a pyramid scheme. Of course Herbalife is the best way to lose weight. Of course Amway make the best cleaning products, Jeremy. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unstructured_Supplementary_Service_Data https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unstructured_Supplementary_Ser... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-Pesa https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-Pesa [2] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-63704034 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-63704034
- zie 2y ago
  As I understand it: 1 and 2 are already done with phone minutes in many, many parts of the African continent. Should phone minutes be currency? probably not, but arguably it's better than Bitcoin, at least the value is easy to understand. With bitcoin's volatility I'm not sure how you can believe #3 is even remotely true. Bitcoin is a hard asset? What exactly is your definition of "Hard Asset"? As I think we are talking about very, very different things. Here is my definition for comparison: A hard asset refers to a tangible asset or resource with fundamental value. Think productive farm animals, vehicles, things of that nature.