3 ms·
This is lunacy at its finest. Those that have no access to bank accounts live in third world countries. Bitcoin pre-supposes that the user have access to a comp
by lingben 13y ago
This is lunacy at its finest. Those that have no access to bank accounts live in third world countries. Bitcoin pre-supposes that the user have access to a computer either stationary or mobile (cell phone, tablet, etc.) with access to the internet.
So what proponents of this idea are saying is that bitcoin will somehow, magically?, provide these people with not only the know-how of how to use a cryptocurrency but also provide them with these three indispensable resources:
electricity (dependable and stable)
internet (dependable and stable)
computer (mobile or not)
...all before they can then turn around and use bitcoin.
And that the central bank and government of said country will stand aside and relegate its monetary system and control to an outside force.
- pault 13y agoGive it a few years (infographic for the lazy): http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTINFORMATIONANDCOMMUNICATIONANDTECHNOLOGIES/0,,contentMDK:23242710~pagePK:210058~piPK:210062~theSitePK:282823,00.html http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTINFORMATI... EDIT: to address your last point, I don't believe that it is within the power of any but the most sophisticated central governments to prevent adoption of a decentralized financial network. Look at the history of file sharing and bitcoin drug markets, for example. Every regulatory action creates evolutionary pressure on the network, and the succeeding services become more difficult to suppress.
- lingben 13y agoYes, this is general knowledge. But what you are asserting is a non-sequitur because you are assuming a direct link from adoption of cell-phones in third world countries to the adoption and use of bitcoin as a currency.
- pault 13y agoI was addressing three of your previous points–electricity, internet, computer. I don't see these as issues, and to assume that cryptocurrency will remain as under-serviced and difficult to use as it currently is would be remarkably shortsighted.
- logfromblammo 13y agoThey are even less problematic when you consider them in comparison with the infrastructure required for physical currency banking: vaults, guards, armored cars, auditors, trust, communications. When everyone already has the ability to use a cellular phone, the additional marginal resources required for using cryptocurrency are almost trivial. The way most banks operate, they would need electricity, Internet, and computers in all of their branch locations anyway. If you have neither traditional banking nor cryptocurrency, aiming for the latter offers a bigger return on your infrastructure investment.
- TylerE 13y agoI think you are underestimating the suppressive effect of large government-controlled armies packing AK-47s and jeeps.
- pault 13y agoArmed government thugs create black markets.
- TheCoelacanth 13y agoThere are people living in first world countries who have computers but can't get a bank account. If you have a negative report on ChexSystems, you won't be able to get a bank account, even if you have plenty of money for a computer. Bitcoin isn't going to solve the problem for everyone, but there are definitely people who could get access to bitcoin but not to conventional banking.
- eru 13y agoInteresting enough, in Germany some banks (or rather credit unions, Sparkassen) pledged to give every comer a basic bank account in return for some regulatory privileges.
- hoggle 13y agoYou are likely underestimating the "third world" of 2013. There are lots of companies embracing the constraints of SMS alone as almost everybody has a mobile phone in Kenya. Think about all the things you could do with a Twilio account! Better get working on a product for a free and bright future. :) Examples: http://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-and-m-pesa-why-money-in-kenya-has-gone-digital/ http://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-and-m-pesa-why-money-in-keny... http://www.sokotext.com http://www.sokotext.com
- pault 13y agoExcellent followup to the coindesk article: http://www.coindesk.com/bitpesa-uses-bitcoin-slash-kenyan-remittance-costs/ http://www.coindesk.com/bitpesa-uses-bitcoin-slash-kenyan-re... I don't have total confidence in bitcoin itself, but I am very, very bullish on cryptocurrency.
- jpindar 13y agoYou think people in third world countries don't have cell phones and electricity, or privately run payment systems? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-Pesa http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-Pesa