Why are Venezuelan not switching to Bitcoin?

[ripplehd]

venezuela has strict policies and cops over there like torturing people and lots of drug lords so I doubt they will start bitcoin over there because it doesn't have any value to there government or citizens. The people would most likely use it illegally and maybe fights will occur if someone doesn't pay so rules will be tough over there as well as crime.

[1714863317]

1714863317

[h3rlihy]

Seems like a pretty rough time to be living over there. But as somebody mentioned there would be no point switching to bitcoin if they can't rely on actually having electricity. Can't do a lot with btc if you don't have power..

[trollercoaster]

Because you can't buy your groceries and gas with buttcoin

[maku]

Because you can't buy your groceries and gas with buttcoin

You can buy everything with bitcoin. But we are not on that level yet. Venezuela is not ready for bitcoin, and as much I wanted to help them by introducing bitcoin - it won't help the whole country.
Bitcoin for now is supplementary currency, more of a commodity or speculative tool that real money usable in everyday. Definitely not a cure for national crisis.

[tyz]

This is not actually a valid argument in my opinion. Let's say someone has got Venezuelan currency valued $100 today then it will be less valued one day later because of the high inflation. If they need one half to buy food and clothes with or pay the shelter then there is still room to buy a stable currency (lets say Bitcoin which is available for everyone over the internet) for $50 in oder to keep the value.

One reason why Venezuelans aren't switching to Bitcoin might be because they have no money to begin with. Have you ever been to Venezuela? It's not a very safe place because of high crime and poverty. I had an overnight stopover there and was told not to leave my hotel until my flight the next day. From the looks of things the brief time I was there, they weren't kidding.

The US Department of State has recently issued this travel warning for US citizens traveling to Venezuela: https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/alertswarnings/venezuela-travel-warning.html

[Oralmat]

venezuela has strict policies and cops over there like torturing people and lots of drug lords so I doubt they will start bitcoin over there because it doesn't have any value to there government or citizens. The people would most likely use it illegally and maybe fights will occur if someone doesn't pay so rules will be tough over there as well as crime.

Yes, the Govt. may be stopping the Venezuelan citizens for many reasons of their own interest. I think its time for the people to raise their voice for the freedom to choose any currency.

[tyz]

I was not talking about to buy groceries or gas with Bitcoin, rather I was talking about to keep the value of the money people own. They do not need to exchange all money into Bitcoin or alternatives but only a part they do not need urgently. I know Venezuela is a not a rich country, although it has the most known raw oil resources, but there is also a considerable middle class (compared to other Latin American countries) with savings.

Because you can't buy your groceries and gas with buttcoin

[anti economist]

There are many methods to control inflation, e.g. 1) increasing interest rates 2) increasing taxes 3) indexation and many others. Obviously the politicians of countries with big inflation are uneducated and they have no idea about economics like the politicians of EU.

[Junko]

This is not actually a valid argument in my opinion. Let's say someone has got Venezuelan currency valued $100 today then it will be less valued one day later because of the high inflation. If they need one half to buy food and clothes with or pay the shelter then there is still room to buy a stable currency (lets say Bitcoin which is available for everyone over the internet) for $50 in oder to keep the value.

One reason why Venezuelans aren't switching to Bitcoin might be because they have no money to begin with. Have you ever been to Venezuela? It's not a very safe place because of high crime and poverty. I had an overnight stopover there and was told not to leave my hotel until my flight the next day. From the looks of things the brief time I was there, they weren't kidding.

The US Department of State has recently issued this travel warning for US citizens traveling to Venezuela: https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/alertswarnings/venezuela-travel-warning.html

Well, my argument begins with the premise that it may be that most Venezuelans don't have any money to begin with. You create a whole different argument when you start off with, "Let's say someone has got Venezuelan currency valued $100 today then it will be..."

My point is, if most Venezuelans are so poor because of poverty or inflation or whatever, then how are they even going to buy bitcoin if they don't have any money to begin with. Forget about not having electricity.

As to your argument, do you really believe someone with only $100 worth of money - regardless of what its value is later - would even consider spending half of that money on bitcoin? Really? The food and clothes and whatever they bought with the other $50 isn't going to last forever, you know. When that runs out, what then?

[Cantoner]

The politicians and the president of Venezuela wont let anything take his power and control over the people,soo thats why bitcoin wont and isnt an option there ,as someone said some people get jail because they were mining bitcoins,the politicians dont wanna let anyone freedom to choose and save their money into bitcoin,would be great for them to be able to protect themselfs with bitcoin soo the inflaction wouldnt make such jumps,the thing is fiat control=people submission.

[RobinHoodster]

Maybe because most people in Venezuala do not make use of the internet in that way. I believe that most people there do not even know what Bitcoin is so it is impossible for them to start using it if they do not even know what it is.

[calkob]

I think i must just not have caught on yet, it takes time for people to convert to new forms of money, that is both buyers and sellers.

[BossMacko]

i know some that switch to bitcoin already, even gvt doesnt want bitcoin, they find ways how to trade bitcoin and make profit from it.

[mookid]

As i Venezuelan i can attest that Bitcoin as seen a surge of popularity, but only among the tech-savvy. Bitcoin definitely offers great opportunities, like the possibility of protecting yourself from the country's triple-digit inflation and instant transactions, however, the government is seeking bitcoin miners to jail them. It's a pretty fucked up situation.

[tyz]

That's interesting to have someone here who can report directly from the country. How easy is it for normal people (not tech-savvy ones) to get Bitcoins? Is there something like a free market, I means something like localbitcoins, but inofficial?

As i Venezuelan i can attest that Bitcoin as seen a surge of popularity, but only among the tech-savvy. Bitcoin definitely offers great opportunities, like the possibility of protecting yourself from the country's triple-digit inflation and instant transactions, however, the government is seeking bitcoin miners to jail them. It's a pretty fucked up situation.

[mrhelpful]

Because you can't buy your groceries and gas with buttcoin

Technically you can, but this is assuming you arent aware of the bitcoin debit cards thats provided.

Its been out for that last 5 months now or close to being a year almost. But what youre saying is right in some sense, if they just heard about bitcoin it`ll take them a couple reading around to find the debit card option.

[ChuckSRQ]

There is actually a really cool website that lets you make Bids/Asks for BTC to Bolivares Fuertes (BsF).  Called SurBitcoin.  https://surbitcoin.com

It says you can connect your Venezuelan bank account if you have one. 

The problem is, not that many people have bank accounts and the minimum wage is set at 15,051.15 Venezuelan bolivars (VEF 15,051.15) per month.

According to dolartoday which is the internet website for the black market rate that dollars are going for in Venezuela. That's about $14 FOR THE MONTH.

A lot of the people live in third world conditions and this has only been exacerbated by the Chavista regime. The Maduro Presidency being the worst part. 

I do believe it's legal. Those miners were probably arrested on mad eup charges just so the intelligence services could steal their BTC.  The government is made up of nothing but thugs at this point. Straight up. Every libertarian conspiracy you've ever heard about government is almost asssuredly true in Venezuela. Price controls, censorship of media, political incarceration, government abuse and over reach.  Corruption on all levels.

The interesting thing is that if you do have Bolivares, you could buy BTC at a huge discount.  At current prices on SurBitcoin, you could buy BTC at the equivalent of $435. Everything is cheaper there by our standards but in theirs it's incredibly expensive.  It's really sad. 

[ChuckSRQ]

Because you can't buy your groceries and gas with buttcoin

Technically you can, but this is assuming you aren't aware of the bitcoin debit cards thats provided.

Its been out for that last 5 months now or close to being a year almost. But what youre saying is right in some sense, if they just heard about bitcoin it`ll take them a couple reading around to find the debit card option.

The problem is that any transaction with current debit cards is that they are denominated in USD or EUR. There is the govt exchange rate and the black market exchange rate and they are hugely different.  

Govt Exchange Rate: 1 USD = 6.30 VEF
Black Market Rate: 1 USD = 1,050 VEF

VISA/Mastercard would convert the bitcoin at the govt rate and now everything is hugely expensive.

[pooya87]

the same reasons why everybody else is not switching to bitcoin. the government is one of the biggest reasons, they are never going to let people switch to something they can't control. besides bitcoin is not the stable money you would like to use as your daily cash.

[X7]

Strict foreign exchange policies have slowed it down - expect some growth there though, a lot of intelligent people who do not wish to be controlled in that country. Unfortunate situation the conditions in which some people have to live.