Banks do not control my bitcoins - Zimbabwe News!

[Artemis3]

So, everyone should already have heard that Zimbabwe has issued a new currency, because most of us look at Zimbabwe as an example of what goes wrong with Fiat currencies when they fail. 

The problem is that they have a huge shortage of the new currency, so people are only allowed to withdraw a limited amount of it and then there are already people selling it on the street at a premium to people that desperately need it.

So imagine this, you rock up at the ATM and you want to draw $500, but all the ATMs tells you that you can only withdraw a maximum of $100 per day. 

Luckily for us Bitcoiners, nobody can tell us how much we can use, because we control our own currency.  This is just another reminder of what true Financial freedom are supposed to be. 

Another coin that the government can turn to dust overnight. Zimbabwe should have learned the lesson...

Hmmpf, they should learn from us, 1 bank note per person per day, the socialist way of redistribution of wealth: quotas and lines, LONG waiting lines, so many and so long, you won't have time to do anything else which fits perfectly with their system, as there won't be any full jobs worth doing anyway.

100$ per day at the ATM? Try 2$. That's the reality here. And guess what, the money only lasts about 15 minutes, the ATMs get refilled about twice a day. Your best hope is to do the line at the bank for your daily banknote. Of course, most transactions are done with debit card, physical money is only rarely used in things like the obsolete (private) public transport city services.

To me, the only reason any government has to issue a coin, is to manipulate it and do things like printing to fit their ill conceived budgets, rather than reduce expenses.

Rather than creating fiat currencies, they should be abolishing them and just adopt bitcoin. Otherwise they are planning something shady, that only ends with MORE poverty. Indeed if you start adopting Austrian school of economy ideas, first thing you do is abolish fractional reserve banking and CLOSE the central bank. This forces the ever corrupt politicians into more transparency, no garbage budgets anymore.

Well, lets just see how long they take to repeat history. One would think 40 centuries should be long enough for humans to learn, but alas...

[agentx44]

So, everyone should already have heard that Zimbabwe has issued a new currency, because most of us look at Zimbabwe as an example of what goes wrong with Fiat currencies when they fail. 

The problem is that they have a huge shortage of the new currency, so people are only allowed to withdraw a limited amount of it and then there are already people selling it on the street at a premium to people that desperately need it.

So imagine this, you rock up at the ATM and you want to draw $500, but all the ATMs tells you that you can only withdraw a maximum of $100 per day. 

Luckily for us Bitcoiners, nobody can tell us how much we can use, because we control our own currency.  This is just another reminder of what true Financial freedom are supposed to be. 

https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/world/africa/2019-11-12-zimbabwes-new-banknotes-run-out-within-hours-of-introduction/

https://www.fin24.com/Economy/Africa/long-qeues-form-in-harare-as-zimbabwe-releases-new-bank-notes-coins-20191112

It is now the time we boast the advantages of bitcoin which can be implemented on a certain country for a better mometary system. This is a certain call for the attention of everyone to see that bitcoin is way more better than fiat and the manipulation of the government will never stop but we can be freed by bitcoin. A country should have a government that would provide suffecient needs of its people but it is contrary on what is happening on Zimbabwe so maybe things would get better if they would allow bitcoin be regulated by them.

[semobo]

No government will give this freedom to their citizen,because they want to control the financial stability by controlling such things but bitcoin is for anyone,if bitcoin is in your hand you can do anything you want,no need for approval from banks,no need to visit ATMs to withdraw,no need to hold wallets in our hand and much more.

But when we are going to use bitcoin as currency,we still see it as speculative asset which is big barrier from next level adoption as payment.

[LUCKMCFLY]

~snip~

Not only does Zimbabwe have a bad economy, Venezuela is an example of this, they have similar problems, when a new currency is issued, the monetary cone changes, cash bills are exchanged in Colombia causing shortages and inflation increases.

The Venezuelan government launched a token-cryptocurrency that is being implemented as payment for certain paperwork, such as issuance of passports, apostille of documents, among others, since all the resources taken by the traditional economy have not helped them, in countries with high crises and very high inflation, the most radical solutions do not work, however it has an ideology for its cryptocurrency but not Bitcoin, which, is totally contradictory, is something like what China wants to do.

I think that the solution for the particular economies of both Zimbabwe, Venezuela, Argentina and all countries in financial crisis in serious condition, should take Bitcoin as an immediate refuge, thus having a benefit as a whole, for them they would get some liquidity and to The Bitcoin economy would increase demand resulting in an increase in the value of Bitcoin, that is, everyone wins, this is a way to start looking for financial freedom.

[enhu]

Its their government way of controlling people though. They have to limit the money to be withdrawn or else it will be withdrawn by an individual who can withdraw thousands to hundred thousands for himself and all others will be left with nothing. BTC might not be solving their situation there for the moment if no one accepts BTC as fee for products to buy. They will first have to fix their government which is going to take more than decades before it can happen.

[hello_good_sir]

~snip~

Not only does Zimbabwe have a bad economy, Venezuela is an example of this, they have similar problems, when a new currency is issued, the monetary cone changes, cash bills are exchanged in Colombia causing shortages and inflation increases.

The Venezuelan government launched a token-cryptocurrency that is being implemented as payment for certain paperwork, such as issuance of passports, apostille of documents, among others, since all the resources taken by the traditional economy have not helped them, in countries with high crises and very high inflation, the most radical solutions do not work, however it has an ideology for its cryptocurrency but not Bitcoin, which, is totally contradictory, is something like what China wants to do.

I think that the solution for the particular economies of both Zimbabwe, Venezuela, Argentina and all countries in financial crisis in serious condition, should take Bitcoin as an immediate refuge, thus having a benefit as a whole, for them they would get some liquidity and to The Bitcoin economy would increase demand resulting in an increase in the value of Bitcoin, that is, everyone wins, this is a way to start looking for financial freedom.

I think it's a pretty fair comparison to make between Venezuela and Zimbabwe, they both have had horrible governments that ended up ruining their countries economy, although Venezuela has been a lot less restricted and the people have naturally adopted bitcoin for a lot of their money.

I wonder if Zimbabwe is going to keep trapping its citizen's money, I'm pretty sure they were a lot of people who were actually getting their money into Bitcoin or another crypto-currency during their financial issues, I don't agree with Zimbabwe's approach and it looks like the method that screws a lot of people.

[drumamat]

So, everyone should already have heard that Zimbabwe has issued a new currency, because most of us look at Zimbabwe as an example of what goes wrong with Fiat currencies when they fail. 

The problem is that they have a huge shortage of the new currency, so people are only allowed to withdraw a limited amount of it and then there are already people selling it on the street at a premium to people that desperately need it.

So imagine this, you rock up at the ATM and you want to draw $500, but all the ATMs tells you that you can only withdraw a maximum of $100 per day. 

Luckily for us Bitcoiners, nobody can tell us how much we can use, because we control our own currency.  This is just another reminder of what true Financial freedom are supposed to be. 

https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/world/africa/2019-11-12-zimbabwes-new-banknotes-run-out-within-hours-of-introduction/

https://www.fin24.com/Economy/Africa/long-qeues-form-in-harare-as-zimbabwe-releases-new-bank-notes-coins-20191112

Do you live in Zimbabwe?
Can you use btc to buy something?
Do you have btc ATMs or exchange offices where you can exchange btc to fiat?
What about taxes?
It will be great if your local people can directly spend btc instead of waiting to get fiat money.

I also wanted to ask some questions that you asked.Is it really possible to exchange or buy cryptocurrency in Zimbabwe?If it's true that residents can only withdraw $ 100 a day then it's very sad.I really feel sorry for these people.If everything is so bad, then it is unlikely that the cryptocurrency will solve something.

[kryptqnick]

So, everyone should already have heard that Zimbabwe has issued a new currency, because most of us look at Zimbabwe as an example of what goes wrong with Fiat currencies when they fail. 

The problem is that they have a huge shortage of the new currency, so people are only allowed to withdraw a limited amount of it and then there are already people selling it on the street at a premium to people that desperately need it.

So imagine this, you rock up at the ATM and you want to draw $500, but all the ATMs tells you that you can only withdraw a maximum of $100 per day. 

Luckily for us Bitcoiners, nobody can tell us how much we can use, because we control our own currency.  This is just another reminder of what true Financial freedom are supposed to be. 

https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/world/africa/2019-11-12-zimbabwes-new-banknotes-run-out-within-hours-of-introduction/

https://www.fin24.com/Economy/Africa/long-qeues-form-in-harare-as-zimbabwe-releases-new-bank-notes-coins-20191112

This story only reminds me of that Venezuelan crypto... I think that when the country is in such a bad situation, state-controlled crypto cannot save the situation. After all, it's the state that is responsible for letting the current situation become real. So at first some major changes of power have to occur, perhaps a new system should be introduced that would not allow making the same mistakes. Then a governmental currency can be introduced. As for the limits, just a couple of years ago we had this annoying thing with ATMs where you could only withdraw up to $40 per transaction. It was also done to prevent people from taking their money from their banks, but fortunately, it seems like it's not a thing anymore. As for Bitcoin, I agree that it provides the kind of freedom we must value and the one which is especially seen in the kind of situations like Zimbabwe's in. But if Bitcoin is not adopted by retailers in this country, I don't think it can help people to survive, and that seems to be the top priority right now.

[yulionoo]

bitcoin gives us freedom to trade there are no restrictions like fiat money. using bitcoin is indeed more profitable than fiat money. besides can be used for bitcoin investments can also be used as a means of payment. unfortunately not all countries can accept bitcoin as an alternative payment. I think that at Zimbahwe Bitcoin also cannot be used as a payment tool. so they still rely on fiat money in transactions.

[Kakmakr]

I think a lot of the replies on this thread are not speaking to the point I am trying to make. I am not trying to highlight the weak Zimbabwean economy, but rather the inefficiency of the Banks. These people have to rely on the Banks to provide enough fiat currencies for them to eat and to pay for their expenses.

Bitcoin has none of these problems, because there are no single authority that are making the decisions to limit withdrawals or setting limits on transactions or telling you when you can have access to their services.            You are your own Bank

[Wintersoldier]

I think a lot of the replies on this thread are not speaking to the point I am trying to make. I am not trying to highlight the weak Zimbabwean economy, but rather the inefficiency of the Banks. These people have to rely on the Banks to provide enough fiat currencies for them to eat and to pay for their expenses.

Bitcoin has none of these problems, because there are no single authority that are making the decisions to limit withdrawals or setting limits on transactions or telling you when you can have access to their services.            You are your own Bank

In the first place for their economy to be strong and well established, they should be supported by their banks, why? Most of the assets are backed by the funds that business owners loans from the banks where people have their money. Thus, my opinion for this is that the Zimbabwean economy will not be developed without their central financial banks to support it. If they really want to have a stable currency that will fully support their community and economy, let them stick to one crypto, crypto that will unite them without these banking systems that can be considered inefficient. A system for cryptocurrency I supposed is what they need to replace functionalities offered by banks.

[bitvalak]

The main problem with Zimbabwe is that all of its natural resources and then its central government is being manipulated by outsiders, which is why the Zimbabwe government itself cannot overcome its unhealthy economic conditions which have an impact on the exchange rate of its currency.
As far as I know Zimbabwe also uses the Yuan currency to resolve debt problems with China

[omfg.xekcep]

Partially you are right it is really quite difficult to control cryptocurrencies but not everything is so obvious. Formerly I also thought like you but not now. I can plead such an argument that eventually almost all people are going to exchange their cryptocurrencies to fiat currencies to make boughts in the real world. Everyone can easily check it out by asking his friends what are they going to do with their cryptocurrencies in finally?
When we are talking about money everything may seem strange like in Orwell's 1984
“In philosophy, or religion, or ethics, or politics, two and two might make five, but when one was designing a gun or an aeroplane they had to make four.”

[danherbias07]

It is not that they are against it.
It is about the anti money laundering law which they have to abide.
That should explain everything.
You will just need to research about it.
If  $100 is a lot of money in your country then it should be the limit.
Maybe there is a verification to grow it to a larger scale.

[pjcaruci]

Apparently cryptocurrency for a country like Zimbabwe is really salvation to some extent.

[Shenzou]

I feel like the sate at which the Zimbabwe government and the fiat currency there sets and example for people to see how much the system is really messed up, and them creating another currency sand giving it value does not hold any meaning, and people there have already giving up on it and they are using other currencies from other countries to do transactions between them, and i fell like if they all had the resources and the ability to use bitcoin or crypto they would have already done it, but the lack of development there is what is stopping it.

[Pearls Before Swine]

How in the world could they issue a new banknote and not produce enough to meet even the first day's demand?  No wonder Zimbabwe hasn't had a stable currency in years.  If they can't even get the anticipated demand right, they're going to have problems with everything else as well.  Jesus.

Op, I was not aware of this story so I thank you for posting the links.  I did know that things were bad in Zimbabwe but didn't know about the new currency.  Hopefully for them the gov't straightens this issue out, and quickly.

The main problem with Zimbabwe is that all of its natural resources and then its central government is being manipulated by outsiders

And that's true of a number of countries in africa if I'm not mistaken.  Everything is messed up over there and has been for many years.

[Kprawn]

This is just a temporary problem and if I am correct, they are not printing their own currency. Many first world countries print their own currencies,

so they never run out of fiat currencies. Even if their currency are printed by another country, they should have known how much fiat currencies

should have been printed to meet the demand. They have had fiat currencies for years, prior to this crisis and they even printed too much to cause

hyper inflation in the past. 

[Artemis3]

Not only does Zimbabwe have a bad economy, Venezuela is an example of this, they have similar problems, when a new currency is issued, the monetary cone changes, cash bills are exchanged in Colombia causing shortages and inflation increases.

The Venezuelan government launched a token-cryptocurrency that is being implemented as payment for certain paperwork, such as issuance of passports, apostille of documents, among others, since all the resources taken by the traditional economy have not helped them, in countries with high crises and very high inflation, the most radical solutions do not work, however it has an ideology for its cryptocurrency but not Bitcoin, which, is totally contradictory, is something like what China wants to do.

I think that the solution for the particular economies of both Zimbabwe, Venezuela, Argentina and all countries in financial crisis in serious condition, should take Bitcoin as an immediate refuge, thus having a benefit as a whole, for them they would get some liquidity and to The Bitcoin economy would increase demand resulting in an increase in the value of Bitcoin, that is, everyone wins, this is a way to start looking for financial freedom.

Bitcoin alone is not enough, they would all need to switch to Austrian Economics. The dominant Chicago school would simply perpetuate endless cycles of bubbles and crashes, and they fear deflation like mad, they just don't get the idea of a slower but steadier growing economy based on true savings and would rather everyone get in debt so it grows real fast but nothing really supporting it (except the debt itself) which causes it to inevitably collapse like an MLM scheme.

The very reason none of them would adopt bitcoin, is because their economists fear deflation. Bitcoin adoption by any State requires to bring Austrian economists for advise, such as Huerta de Soto et al. An Austrian would tell them to close the central bank to end fractional reserve banking (and fiat), for starts. The "Chicago boys" would never do such a thing...

[CryptoBry]

Luckily for us Bitcoiners, nobody can tell us how much we can use, because we control our own currency.  This is just another reminder of what true Financial freedom are supposed to be. 

I understand that your point is that with Bitcoin there is no government or central bank that can tell us the minimum and the maximum we can use just like what is being imposed on this newly released Zimbabwe currency. By the way, I heard that in the past the government also released many currencies that eventually failed, so what about this new one does it have a chance to finally succeed?

Bitcoin is thriving in Zimbabwe because there are now people who realized of its critical role and importance and many are using it for survival, like buying foods and other basic goods outside the country since the local currency is considered to be worthless. With Bitcoin, this has become something that they can control themselves and can be empowering them unlike what the local currency can be offering.