Bitcoin Forum

Growing up, I have always read, heard, and occasionally seen how so many impoverished nations are unable to have the same standard of living and quality of life that I enjoy every day.

Now that places like El Salvador, Venezuela, and Nigeria are on the front lines of full scale Bitcoin adoption, the only feeling I have is hope for them.

How incredible would it be if these countries 192.168.0.1 (https://19216801.onl/) routerlogin (https://routerlogin.uno/) 192.168.l.l (https://192168ll.link/)
were able to get themselves back on equal footing and dramatically improve the lives of their citizens?

I’m hoping, and we should make sure we fight hard for them. I’m so far from being an activist, but I’d fashion signage, take to the streets, and vocally show support for them.

Here is to hoping.

Using Bitcoin in Nigeria is somewhat close to illegal. I reckon the adoption of Bitcoin in El Salvador as a legal tender, the president is actually trying by all means to make the economy become a stable one.
For me it feels really amazing, and I'd try every available means within me to educate people about the utility of Bitcoin and how it can help improve the lives of people.

I read a lot about this news and here's what I think. Really historical events are taking place before our eyes. However, it is worth considering whether this trend will continue and will it really come into fashion this year? I understand that El Salvador is a country where there are big problems with the financial system, most of the income comes from abroad, and therefore, in particular, the authorities took such a step. What will happen to countries where the situation looks different? the question is open.

1. Nigeria has a very restricted usage in regards to cryptos, it's central bank has banned all interactions of the banks with the crypto exchanges, so how is it on the front lines of crypto?.

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Even if a country accepts bitcoin as a legal tender, let's say el Salvador or Venezuela in future, how will the country develop an equitable distribution of income? It's not that government is going to pay a universal basic pay to everyone and neither there is going to be any sort of special subsidies for using bitcoin, it's just the same, if you have the skill you get paid for your skill, just the payment comes in crypto? So why are you hopeful? How is there any Direct/ indirect relationship between both?

That’s wishful thinking. Bitcoin can only be used as a tool but never as a solution to a problem that stems from bas governance and outright corruption from officials who run these countries. We all want and hope for progress on these countries, but as long as those who are seated on the public office remain to be the same douches emptying the public coffers for their own gains, no progress would be made. Even if such a great opportunity presents itself to the people, if the government is swift to exploit it for their own, nothing is gonna happen.

Citizens from the countries you’ve mentioned should only rely on themselves to better their future, and be educated and well-informed on choosing who should they put in the spot to lead them. Crypto was never the solution, but is only a tool and possibly an opportunity to the citizens.

The crux of the matter is how many people and companies actually embrace the usage of BTC.  In many places, taxation and general bookkeeping is a legitimate concern for businesses who deal with BTC, but in El Salvador this will remove that hurdle and place Bitcoin on a level playing field with fiat.  However, because merchants have been given the option to convert it straight back to USD at point of sale, I'm curious to see how many actually opt to keep the bitcoins, versus how many take the off-ramp back to Dollars.  Considering, if they don't keep the BTC, then they'll continue paying their workers in dollars and BTC generally won't find its way into the hands of many people.  It's all going to depend on the choices these people make.   

That's incredible and it's not just for those countries but also for other countries that have been allowing their citizens to intervene with bitcoin. A lot of lives have improved already especially with the last peak that we've seen for bitcoin. And what if we're going to see bitcoin more than $100k, $200k, and so on. It's difficult to believe for such high prices but we'll be going there very soon and it will make too many lives change for real which bitcoin has been doing it for years.

Some countries as you mentioned here adopt cryptocurrencies initially but just of a sudden they ran out of adoption of cryptocurrency, now looking for a way to retrieve the previous standard or bond, I don't think it will be up to the
initial standard because if companies in a such a country as stipulated or emphasised via Nigeria were among of the list of cryptocurrency users,and that means  by now companies would have indulge of payment with Crypto, and it would have stand in order, but since they dislike crypto from the time, the board haven't stand firm till now, I don't really think it will work,

And remember op, that Nigeria system of government suspended the uses of cryptocurrency via their Central Bank Of Nigeria through the Governor, and Nigeria as a country never be in Frontlines of cryptocurrency any longer, it was before not currently.

I've always been in the thinking that Bitcoin is indeed a tool more than a direct solution to a lot of financial, political, social, and economic ills of society. However, it is also worth acknowledging that Bitcoin is actually of so much help to address certain problems resulting from inequality, financial exclusion, and others. So to a certain extent, Bitcoin indeed fixes some of these problems.

Take for instance the case of El Salvador where 70% of the population is unbanked and at least 20% of the GDP is based on remittances. Cross-border transactions are heavily reliant on remittance centers such as Wester Union which charges high fees and whose nearest branch may not be readily accessible to a lot of people. Bitcoin indeed solves this problem.

In the long term, bad governance and corruption which include indiscriminately printing money out of thin air, distributing it among themselves and their businesses, lack of economic foresight, and so on would result to a weak currency, uncontrollable inflation, and overall crumbling economy. Somehow, Bitcoin fixes this.

Sure! giving anyone in the world equality of opportunities is such an ethical thing to do. But how in the hell Bitcoin could improve those impoverished nations? Just because bitcoin exists doesn't mean it will solve all the world's problems, especially poverty. Some people have been already working toward making a better world before Bitcoin even exists, yet we still didn't manage how to get it right. A poverties is such a complex problems, and it won't be solved by Bitcoin.

Not Nigeria mate, they are currently not giving off any positive vibes about crypto adoption but yes some countries where the economy has been poorer compared to others seen to be have been the first in adopting bitcoin as a legal tender.

But none of us are economists at this forum, whether this is being orchestrated by a certain group of people for some specific needs or gains is not understood. For traders and long time hodlers this is good news but it it worth watching how other countries are going to progress about this. Whether their country is acting as a haven for tax evaders and whether they are using this to liquidate their holding is debatable.

"Showing support" for them - I dont really think that is the option for common people to do. In many countries the pandemic is still going on. Coming down on streets to show support happened in many countries but good luck with that.

You can support bitcoin by using it, no need to be vocal about it.

I received the news of El Salvador’s acceptance of bitcoin as a legal tender with great pleasure. This will indeed help improve the life of the citizens of the country economically. But we cannot say the same about Nigeria where bitcoin is declared illegal by the government despite the large population of Nigerians using the digital currency bitcoin.

If they are impoverished, that also means that they will have a very bad Internet infrastructure and advancement in technology in their country is equivalent to that of 1700s or less. It will be difficult what you are hoping for if the people that is the would be lifeblood of the network can't even access it.

It's all fine. But how are they going to deal with the transaction speed? This is far from the only bitcoin problem, I would say it doesn't fit as the main currency at all. Now there are coins that are more convenient than a btc

I have a feeling that most of the companies aren't going to follow suit just because their government made BTC a legal tender. It boils down to whether they are comfortable doing their daily transactions in BTC, and obviously, when you're coming from a dollar standpoint, it's really hard to break old habits and changing your accounting, B2B contract payments, and salaries all to Bitcoin.

Then there's the problem of us not having a de facto SPV wallet that works on all platforms. Electrum comes close but doesn't make the cut. That would make things so much easier for people who just want to get paid and don't care about the technical details of bitcoin.

First, we have to look at how BTC is going to help those "Impoverished" nation. Will it really lift them up or at least help their financials to be stable?

So there's a lot of factors to consider before we see bitcoin as a solution more than a problem for those nations. How about it's volatility, or the technicalities involved with having your own wallet that you have control. We can't really tell what will be the outcome of El Salvador legalising bitcoin, might take years for us to really see if it really help or not.

To answer your question, I don't think so because I am pretty sure that these impoverished nations will not have any infrastructures to support bitcoin network or even make an access for their citizens to the Internet where bitcoin resides. Regarding stability, they need a government that is united and have the crimes lowered but it will be impossible.

It all bores down to the vision of the Head of the nation and the El Salvador President has shown that he will take the bull by the horn and tackle the country's financial crisis through Bitcoin adoption but this is something we cannot say for a country like Nigeria at the moment because Bitcoin is almost something that is seen as illegal even though the government will tell you that they didn't ban Bitcoin but they ban every Bank and other financial institutions from transacting in and cryptocurrency related transactions.

 

Indeed.  Part of me feels like the most significant part of all this is the political power-play, roughly equivalent to raising a middle finger to the US and the IMF while the world watches on.  I guess we'll see how committed the government of El Salvador really is to supplying their people with the infrastructure to actually support real world usage.  That's what will likely determine the outcome.  Hopefully it's not just an empty gesture on their part.  If they really do want people to use bitcoins, they'll make the transition as easy as possible.

I also hope so, because if poor countries become a bitcoin network, slowly their economy will improve, because of the many benefits that can be obtained from bitcoin, poor countries must take steps like el salvador which has legalized bitcoin.

I really want this to happen. Impoverished nations are having big problems as their currencies are worthless against the currencies of big countries. This could be their best chance to make things better for themselves.

Hate to be the guy to kill dreams like these too OP but you got to live the life of these impoverished peoples first to really understand what they need and what they want.

Education,health, clean water, roof over their heads. An ID. These are the things they want and they will need to escape and break that cycle of impoverishment... Not Bitcoin.

Even if it's a payment method they need, Bitcoin even on layer two won't help even if somehow you find a way to provide the internet and smartphones they would need.

I love Bitcoin but it's not the solution to everything.

poor countries have a big problem, because the currency is low, making them unable to compete with developed countries, if poor countries have bitcoin networks, chances are their economy will improve, and they can compete with other countries, with bitcoin networks in poor countries, unemployment will decreases, their income can increase, surely they will be recognized by other countries..

It seems to me that cryptocurrency will not take root in El Salvador. People there have constant civil wars, the country is very poor, so de El Salvador is considered the most gangster country. Do you think this will have a good impact on the reputation of bitcoin?)

I also have the hope that this will be the case for countries where their inhabitants are poor, because their rights have been limited, and which also do not have a bank account.
It will be the awakening of many things such as access to education that this technology provides.
In most cases these people do not have access to the internet or a smartphone and that is when governments will try to provide them with these resources.

Just as the country of El Salvador will.

Sure Bitcoin is one way to attract a new investor to contribute to a country's development but I do think that this will come down to how the government manages them.  How they will provide the best surroundings for these investments to flourish and how they will stop corruption in order for these institutions' taxes to go directly to development.  If corruption does not stop, I don't think there is a chance for a country to have an equal footing and for their citizen to have an improved way of living.

El Salvador uses the dollar as its main currency. They used to have their own coins but now they are no longer in circulation.
https://imperfectplan.com/2020/01/24/the-money-el-salvador-uses-as-currency-usd-dollars/
https://i.imgur.com/8WbzmLg.png
Venezuela is the country whose national currency has collapsed.

Using Bitcoin as a payment currency benefits them because it is free from the domination of the dollar.
If their national currency was strong there would be no need for Bitcoin.

Nigeria is a developing country in Africa and its government is concerned that Bitcoin devalues its national currency. Bitcoin is good for the people but overall it is not good for their country when the crypto-related crime is hard to control.

this is of course very good because maybe they can change the fate of their country in bitcoin and what is surprising as well as very good news is how elsavador dares to make bitcoin a legal tender and this I think is very good because this way I think it can be a reference for other small countries in stabilizing their economy because even though bitcoin is fluctuating but this is very good when compared to small countries just standing still and stagnating where they are now. at least this is an attraction to make their economy even more stable because basically bitcoin is still a coin that is loved by many people

before other countries follow in El Salvador's footsteps, they need to prepare everything that is really ripe to review their policies when they want to make bitcoin a legal tender. at least they could have discussed with the government of El Salvador to have a picture for the time being. We are still trying to see in as much detail as possible how a country we never thought possible like El Salvador made this extraordinary decision first.

I believe they can really afford to take a chance. I am not so sure about the Nigerian government giving full support regarding Bitcoins but I do know that at the end of the day it would be something which is positive and efficient for the whole society. There is a lot of Corruption and probelms are everywhere for them, therefore if they use Bitcoins correctly! They can take care of this. They can track everything, connect it with people and incase they see any suspicious activity then ofc handle it.
At the same time they can increase the demand, not only local but internationally too because the bitcoin market is honestly very big. They can get a lot more interesting offers if the local businesses starts integrating Bitcoins. It's a whole bag of opportunities they just have to learn to use it in a good way.

My friend, how to you expect countries where even a flick of electricity is like a heavenly thing to start accepting bitcoin already? I appreciate the fact that they started using bitcoin as legal tender but that does not change the fact that these countries are poor. Bitcoin will not solve the poverty. They need to feed themselves first and for doing that they need fiat as a ground level currency that they can acquire without any electronic device and use without another gizmo.

Point is that these poor communities have been manipulated by certain people of power for their own gains. While this is a bad sign, nobody really understands the situation of those poor people from living elsewhere and only reading a news article.

IMF seems to be going against their decision, how much importance their side carries is important here. These organizations are not there just to make a mockery of themselves and take part in some idiotic "world domination program" - that bullshit is made up by idiots only. There is a certain legal concern here as to how the poor people are being misused here.

Each country has its own vision and mission. where el salvador and veneszuela have made a decision by legalizing bitcoin as a legal tender. with the aim of stabilizing the economy. but the problem here is whether the stability will be evenly distributed?

Has much as this would sound like good news, the beneficiaries will come from developed countries as they will likely setup an office in these places to avoid illegal use of bitcoin from where they come from.

Nothing is changing tbh because the investments (capital) will come from the very countries you want to compete with and the locals don't seem to have the capital to pump into crypto.


Keep us posted once you start all this.

While that might be true in some cases, it's certainly not applicable to everyone in El Salvador.  A valid point was raised in the other topic (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5342087.msg57213217#msg57213217) that around 20% of the nation's economy comprises of remittances sent from abroad.  Bitcoin is often a better option for remittances than fiat.  So for those citizens who are receiving dollars at the moment, it may be worth investing some of that money into a device to receive BTC (assuming they don't already have a smartphone).  Over the long term, it will allow them to keep a greater proportion of the funds being sent, as they won't be relying on third parties.  Middlemen like Western Union and TransferWise take a slice of pie.

I don't think anyone is claiming that Bitcoin can help everyone in El Salvador, since that's not realistic.  But even if it just helps some people, that's good enough.

It is interesting to see that you brought up crypto related crime when it came to Nigeria and I am guessing El Salvador is a developed country?

The problem with Nigeria are the continuous Bad Government the country has had. Up till now there are still repatriating loot from previous past government whether it is at the National or state level and non of this loots were taken through cryptocurrencies.

It is the same way you believe that Nigerian government think's Bitcoin will devalue it's national currency that's the same effect Bitcoin will have on the El Salvador currency even though you think they use the same US dollar but this has not helped them in anyway and all the devaluation the the Nigerian Naira has had is not from nothing related to cryptocurrencies.
The thing to understand here is, if the government of a country is willing to take care of their nation like what the El Salvador President as done now, they could be seeing good change to their economy and I hope it works out well for El Salvador.

I hope so too. But I think you're missing one thing; it's not just about currency. What exactly is Bitcoin going to do for these people? Moreover it's not everyone that can make use of bitcoin, there are still people living that don't have access to the internet, and those who have access to the internet, not all of them are using Bitcoin.

Bitcoin is not like free money that's going to make everyone in those countries rich. They need money to invest in Bitcoin, before they even talk about trading it. Bitcoin is only going to help them have access to transactions, because I know for sure that PayPal is not fully available in Nigeria.

The problem of these countries is BAD GOVERNMENT. We need to help them, their governments and those in the upper class are the ones that are making people suffer. They launder money, their children school abroad, they don't provide basic utilities, no good roads, no light (electricity), no good hospitals, terrorism everywhere, bad Security. So tell me how exactly these people are going to survive with bitcoin? Seriously, the world needs to help these people.

Wow, you are a good soul. I am likewise, never forget how beautiful our life is. I just thought while going for a walk that life shouldn't be a zero sum game. My wealth shouldn't be another person's loss. We need to remind ourselves that every human being only has one life.

It feels good to read your words!

While El Salvador is the talk of the week I'd like you to also notice how Kazakhstan is becoming a bitcoin mining powerhouse.

Because of disturbance in China many miners have moved to Kazakhstan and the country has become a fourth country with the most bitcoin hash power. In a few months China is going to drop down a couple spots down and Kazakhstan will be third biggest right after USA and Russia.

The industry is changing for the better. China is losing power and small countries are gaining.

Bitcoin has been a great economic equalizer for all the individuals that have been in the space for many years now. Bitcoin has allowed many an average joe to accumulate life-changing wealth simply by investing in it over the years...

Now we are starting to see countries get into bitcoin and the same thing will play out globally between nation-states: those who are quicker in adopting bitcoin over others will be at an advantage compared to the rest in time. Surely that day is coming when holding bitcoin is part of every national treasury's monetary policy.

It is an added advantage if you are able to enter the market from the beginning as you are bound to make a good profit and if you were that average Joe and invested in Bitcoin then it is possible that you could make a fortune. After all Bitcoin is generally not created to make you rich but to make transaction easier and robust on a global scale at a low transaction charges and hopefully we will reach that position in the future.

it's a very good idea because you care about other people, you have a very noble heart, bitcoin doesn't promise us wealth but bitcoin can at least make our economy a little bit better, if poor countries want to adopt bitcoin this is a good idea, like el country salvador, tanzania, countries that want to adopt bitcoin will definitely experience many risks and challenges, but if they manage to solve the problems and risks that come, I'm sure they will be able to recover their economy, and can make their finances better...