Could Bitcoin Smash Socialism in Venezuela?

[AicecreaME]

Well, Venezuela have been through a lot of struggles before they've got what they have now. Based on the article that I've read, after their president died on 2013, the problem in their country such as hyperinflation that made them suffer for the worst resulting to their currency to became worthless until they've decided to partner their currency to Bitcoin.

Check this ARTICLE.

This year, Bitcoin so far are just making bull runs, countries are starting to put their trust on Bitcoin, even big companies like Tesla and Microstrategy, etc... So I guess we should expect something more on Bitcoin this year.

[bryant.coleman]

But their investment wasn't enough in the end as you have already said. Another problem as you have also mentioned is that they are so reliant on oil that they didn't try to invest in other products. And the blunder of choosing Maduro as the successor added to that problem.

Do you really believe that someone other than Maduro could have resolved this issue? Venezuela is like a single-commodity economy, which is over-reliant on petroleum. The majority of the population is left-leaning similar to the other Latin American nations and they want the governments to make huge welfare spending. If the right-wing parties were in power, then I don't know whether the situation could have been any good. They would have privatized the oil fields, which would cause losses to the economy once the crude oil prices increase.

[Argoo]

But their investment wasn't enough in the end as you have already said. Another problem as you have also mentioned is that they are so reliant on oil that they didn't try to invest in other products. And the blunder of choosing Maduro as the successor added to that problem.

Do you really believe that someone other than Maduro could have resolved this issue? Venezuela is like a single-commodity economy, which is over-reliant on petroleum. The majority of the population is left-leaning similar to the other Latin American nations and they want the governments to make huge welfare spending. If the right-wing parties were in power, then I don't know whether the situation could have been any good. They would have privatized the oil fields, which would cause losses to the economy once the crude oil prices increase.

Venezuela's problem is not socialism. It is unlikely that this authoritarian country can now be attributed to the socialist form of government. As many here correctly point out, Venezuela needs a proper organization of economic management. Global reforms are needed to eliminate the policy of simply eating up what is earned from oil production.
Due to the forced transition of states to renewable energy sources, oil will lose demand and fall in price. Therefore, the economy of this state needs to be reoriented from a simple distribution of produced oil to something that will bring real profit in the long term.

[Piesel]

But their investment wasn't enough in the end as you have already said. Another problem as you have also mentioned is that they are so reliant on oil that they didn't try to invest in other products. And the blunder of choosing Maduro as the successor added to that problem.

Do you really believe that someone other than Maduro could have resolved this issue? Venezuela is like a single-commodity economy, which is over-reliant on petroleum. The majority of the population is left-leaning similar to the other Latin American nations and they want the governments to make huge welfare spending. If the right-wing parties were in power, then I don't know whether the situation could have been any good. They would have privatized the oil fields, which would cause losses to the economy once the crude oil prices increase.

Venezuela's problem is not socialism. It is unlikely that this authoritarian country can now be attributed to the socialist form of government. As many here correctly point out, Venezuela needs a proper organization of economic management. Global reforms are needed to eliminate the policy of simply eating up what is earned from oil production.
Due to the forced transition of states to renewable energy sources, oil will lose demand and fall in price. Therefore, the economy of this state needs to be reoriented from a simple distribution of produced oil to something that will bring real profit in the long term.

They need a proper and inspiring leader, not just a proper organization of the economy. On the other hand, they have to balance the country's income instead of focusing only on oil. Because of this fact, the country was vulnerable and they cant withstand the crisis when oil price droped sharply

[Vishnu.Reang]

They need a proper and inspiring leader, not just a proper organization of the economy. On the other hand, they have to balance the country's income instead of focusing only on oil. Because of this fact, the country was vulnerable and they cant withstand the crisis when oil price droped sharply

IMO, they need both. Hugo Chavez was so successful because his budget was boosted by high crude oil prices. It allowed him to start generous welfare schemes and large infrastructural projects. And when Maduro became the president, the crude oil prices dropped and he could not continue with these same schemes. I really doubt whether Chavez would have been successful, had the oil prices crashed during his term.

[GeorgeJohn]

...What appears to be good information on how cryptocurrencies can help the poor and provide economic opportunities and options in nations under siege as Venezuela is atm.

I think Bitcoin can't do much alone, but Bitcoin with alts (cryptocurrencies) can do a lot!
It's my opinion, and you can see that in some of my comments! Venezuela is just one of the "bad" examples of what this traditional economy is doing for centuries... It's too corrupted, and believe it or not powerful countries and their big banks are pretty much responsible for all that shit around that last for too long..
Crypto can be very transparent, easy to use... crypto is a tool that can be used for many good things! Of course, if it's used in the right way! People can have a vote that will count, and politicians together with banks will not be able to interfere and change everything in their favor! They will not be able to change the chain whenever they like it!

From the beginning of cryptocurrencies bitcoin started alone before adoption or introduction of other cryptocurrencies which is alternative coins, so it happened that without bitcoin the images of alternative coin will not come out as expected, so in summary bitcoin can exist without the support of alt coins but mean while alt coins can't exist without the support of bitcoin.

[Spaffin]

I think Bitcoin can't do much alone, but Bitcoin with alts (cryptocurrencies) can do a lot!
It's my opinion, and you can see that in some of my comments! Venezuela is just one of the "bad" examples of what this traditional economy is doing for centuries... It's too corrupted, and believe it or not powerful countries and their big banks are pretty much responsible for all that shit around that last for too long..
Crypto can be very transparent, easy to use... crypto is a tool that can be used for many good things! Of course, if it's used in the right way! People can have a vote that will count, and politicians together with banks will not be able to interfere and change everything in their favor! They will not be able to change the chain whenever they like it!

From the beginning of cryptocurrencies bitcoin started alone before adoption or introduction of other cryptocurrencies which is alternative coins, so it happened that without bitcoin the images of alternative coin will not come out as expected, so in summary bitcoin can exist without the support of alt coins but mean while alt coins can't exist without the support of bitcoin.

Of course, given that Bitcoin affects the entire cryptocurrency market, no altcoin can exist in isolation. But nevertheless, given the versatility of the cryptocurrency industry and the corresponding demand in the society, Bitcoin will not be able to satisfy all the demand on its own. Therefore, many altcoins complement bitcoin very effectively.

[noorammak]

Governments must have the power to make their own currency and run their own economies on their own terms. Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency, naturally went along and served the people. People want to use cryptocurrencies because they do not believe in the leadership of the government. That is the weakness in the management mechanism of Venezuela.
Bitcoin is really undermining this country because the money flows away from the banks. The government will not receive any tax or service fees.

[GeorgeJohn]

I think Bitcoin can't do much alone, but Bitcoin with alts (cryptocurrencies) can do a lot!
It's my opinion, and you can see that in some of my comments! Venezuela is just one of the "bad" examples of what this traditional economy is doing for centuries... It's too corrupted, and believe it or not powerful countries and their big banks are pretty much responsible for all that shit around that last for too long..
Crypto can be very transparent, easy to use... crypto is a tool that can be used for many good things! Of course, if it's used in the right way! People can have a vote that will count, and politicians together with banks will not be able to interfere and change everything in their favor! They will not be able to change the chain whenever they like it!

From the beginning of cryptocurrencies bitcoin started alone before adoption or introduction of other cryptocurrencies which is alternative coins, so it happened that without bitcoin the images of alternative coin will not come out as expected, so in summary bitcoin can exist without the support of alt coins but mean while alt coins can't exist without the support of bitcoin.

Of course, given that Bitcoin affects the entire cryptocurrency market, no altcoin can exist in isolation. But nevertheless, given the versatility of the cryptocurrency industry and the corresponding demand in the society, Bitcoin will not be able to satisfy all the demand on its own. Therefore, many altcoins complement bitcoin very effectively.

Yeah, it's obvious that the primary functions of alternative coins is complement to Bitcoin, but that shouldn't be use to equates Bitcoin to alternative coins or compared the influence of Bitcoin to altcoins, mean while father which is Bitcoin still remain as father, all alternative coins are supporters in cryptocurrency because during the introduction of Bitcoin the aims and objectives of the founder of Bitcoin which is satoshi Nakamoto is to bring the images of Bitcoin not altcoins, so therefore Bitcoin can equally exist without the support of all the numerous alternative coins.

[Sithara007]

Governments must have the power to make their own currency and run their own economies on their own terms. Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency, naturally went along and served the people. People want to use cryptocurrencies because they do not believe in the leadership of the government. That is the weakness in the management mechanism of Venezuela.
Bitcoin is really undermining this country because the money flows away from the banks. The government will not receive any tax or service fees.

LOL..  this is really funny. So you are claiming that cryptocurrency is the root cause of the economic meltdown ongoing in Venezuela? As far as I know, there is hardly any capital outflow from Venezuela. The reason is that, to start with you need to have at least some capital. And Venezuela doesn't have any. Whatever BTC and other cryptocurrency Venezuelan nationals own comes from freelancing and remittances. If you believe that the government should crack down on these routes and pocket 99% of the money for themselves, then I have to disagree.

[Mauser]

I think the key problem in Venezuela is corruption. If we had a way to detect all the bad politicians and put them in prison than that would be the best action. I am not sure if bitcoins can help here. Venezuela has a lot of resources they can export,so there shouldn't be any economic hardship to be honest.It is just that the money is getting misused and not used for the country. Large infrastructure projects could help as well.

[Hispo]

I think the key problem in Venezuela is corruption. If we had a way to detect all the bad politicians and put them in prison than that would be the best action. I am not sure if bitcoins can help here. Venezuela has a lot of resources they can export,so there shouldn't be any economic hardship to be honest.It is just that the money is getting misused and not used for the country. Large infrastructure projects could help as well.

Venezuelan living in Venezuela.


We have corruption, crime and inflation and Bitcoin and other crypto-assets help our situation.
Politicians and criminals here are always looking for a way to steal whatever we have left, one needs to be careful and having some crypto allow us to have some money in a discreet way.

It is not even completely safe to safe in USD here, because that's what common and in uniform criminals seek the most, a friend of my family got her appartment raided by some crooks because they knew she had some USD in cash.

And of course, the small savings are better in crypto than local currency which goes down between one and two percent everyday in comparison to the USD.

[Hispo]

Bitcoin is really undermining this country because the money flows away from the banks. The government will not receive any tax or service fees.

This is spot on.
But they are getting butt-hurt by the fact they don't have the control over this, that's why they are trying to control the miners and seizing mining equipment.

They seize every time the have the chance here.

[cabron]

Governments must have the power to make their own currency and run their own economies on their own terms. Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency, naturally went along and served the people. People want to use cryptocurrencies because they do not believe in the leadership of the government. That is the weakness in the management mechanism of Venezuela.
Bitcoin is really undermining this country because the money flows away from the banks. The government will not receive any tax or service fees.

Government should have the power and Marudo I believe had tried that $Petro but there is just political instability in the country besides its a threat to USD. The country isn't that ready, its card is just the petro production and it couldn't sustain economically for the country.

Venezuela had a big community for Dash users and Bitcoin Cash, not just Bitcoin actually.

[Hispo]

Governments must have the power to make their own currency and run their own economies on their own terms. Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency, naturally went along and served the people. People want to use cryptocurrencies because they do not believe in the leadership of the government. That is the weakness in the management mechanism of Venezuela.
Bitcoin is really undermining this country because the money flows away from the banks. The government will not receive any tax or service fees.

Government should have the power and Marudo I believe had tried that $Petro but there is just political instability in the country besides its a threat to USD. The country isn't that ready, its card is just the petro production and it couldn't sustain economically for the country.

Venezuela had a big community for Dash users and Bitcoin Cash, not just Bitcoin actually.

The Petro was a centralized closed-source attempt of a currency with little to no organic demand, that is why government is creating artificial demand for it by asking for Petros to issue Passports and other state services. They even gave away half petro to a lot of people some time ago in their centralized wallet. I will admit, that little airdrop helped some people to buy food and there is a small community here which speculates and trade Petro.

Also, you are right about those altcoins. Dash is specially popular here in Veenzuela and it is commonly promoted by Dash Core, Bitcoin Cash is not as popular.
I have had been an user of Dash as medium of exchange.

[Sithara007]

Venezuelan living in Venezuela.


We have corruption, crime and inflation and Bitcoin and other crypto-assets help our situation.
Politicians and criminals here are always looking for a way to steal whatever we have left, one needs to be careful and having some crypto allow us to have some money in a discreet way.

It is not even completely safe to safe in USD here, because that's what common and in uniform criminals seek the most, a friend of my family got her appartment raided by some crooks because they knew she had some USD in cash.

And of course, the small savings are better in crypto than local currency which goes down between one and two percent everyday in comparison to the USD.

If the government fully legalize the usage of USD, then there will be no need to store all the cash at home, and robberies such as the one mentioned above could be avoided. This is one of the disadvantages with fiat cash. It is very difficult to store the money anonymously, which makes it vulnerable to seizures and robberies. But for smaller transactions, Bitcoin is not very suitable. So in case you want to purchase a can of coke, or a packet of sunflower oil, I don't expect you to pay with BTC. You need USD in such occasions.

[Hispo]

Venezuelan living in Venezuela.


We have corruption, crime and inflation and Bitcoin and other crypto-assets help our situation.
Politicians and criminals here are always looking for a way to steal whatever we have left, one needs to be careful and having some crypto allow us to have some money in a discreet way.

It is not even completely safe to safe in USD here, because that's what common and in uniform criminals seek the most, a friend of my family got her appartment raided by some crooks because they knew she had some USD in cash.

And of course, the small savings are better in crypto than local currency which goes down between one and two percent everyday in comparison to the USD.

If the government fully legalize the usage of USD, then there will be no need to store all the cash at home, and robberies such as the one mentioned above could be avoided. This is one of the disadvantages with fiat cash. It is very difficult to store the money anonymously, which makes it vulnerable to seizures and robberies. But for smaller transactions, Bitcoin is not very suitable. So in case you want to purchase a can of coke, or a packet of sunflower oil, I don't expect you to pay with BTC. You need USD in such occasions.

Even though the government already is legalizing USD bank accounts, people won't deposit their cash, because most of us do not trust banks after they restricted our daily cash withdrawvals of local currency since around 2016. Nowadays, in order for me to get cash i need to stand in a line for two hours at 7 am and they only give me  90 cents in local currency.

Also, when I need to buy some food I liquidate some Altcoin which is cheap to move for local currency in a exchange and spend the whole thing as soon as possible. We get Bs-USD exchange rates updates twice a day and they mostly go against our local currency.

[awik p]

Venezuelan living in Venezuela.


We have corruption, crime and inflation and Bitcoin and other crypto-assets help our situation.
Politicians and criminals here are always looking for a way to steal whatever we have left, one needs to be careful and having some crypto allow us to have some money in a discreet way.

It is not even completely safe to safe in USD here, because that's what common and in uniform criminals seek the most, a friend of my family got her appartment raided by some crooks because they knew she had some USD in cash.

And of course, the small savings are better in crypto than local currency which goes down between one and two percent everyday in comparison to the USD.

If the government fully legalize the usage of USD, then there will be no need to store all the cash at home, and robberies such as the one mentioned above could be avoided. This is one of the disadvantages with fiat cash. It is very difficult to store the money anonymously, which makes it vulnerable to seizures and robberies. But for smaller transactions, Bitcoin is not very suitable. So in case you want to purchase a can of coke, or a packet of sunflower oil, I don't expect you to pay with BTC. You need USD in such occasions.

for current conditions it is like that, where the fee required to move bitcoin is still relatively large, so it is not suitable for small payments. but hopefully in the future there will be a solution so that it can be used in all conditions and situations

[Obito]

I think the key problem in Venezuela is corruption. If we had a way to detect all the bad politicians and put them in prison than that would be the best action. I am not sure if bitcoins can help here. Venezuela has a lot of resources they can export,so there shouldn't be any economic hardship to be honest.It is just that the money is getting misused and not used for the country. Large infrastructure projects could help as well.

Not just corruption because there are a lot of countries that corrupt but they aren't socialist, to me, the reason that Venezuela is suffering is not because of socialism but because of incompetence of the government and they invested in the wrong socialism which prioritizes the individual instead of the society and its institutions.

[Vishnu.Reang]

Not just corruption because there are a lot of countries that corrupt but they aren't socialist, to me, the reason that Venezuela is suffering is not because of socialism but because of incompetence of the government and they invested in the wrong socialism which prioritizes the individual instead of the society and its institutions.

At least in case of Venezuela, socialism played a large role in its decline. The first thing the socialist party did after coming to power was to nationalize the petroleum deposits. They nationalized most of the important resources, such as factories. And once these institutions came under government control, corruption and incompetence increased by a magnitude of several times, which eventually resulted in their collapse. And this in turn, destroyed the economy.