BTC is helping out Cubans and Venezuelans

[justdimin]

Almost the same thing happened to me, I know bitcoin from 2014, I bought a lot of bitcoin but I only used it for gambling, HYIP and cloud mining which became a scam, even though I got scammed and lost a lot of gambling but the rest of the bitcoins that I bought could cover my losses and I still can buy many things by knowing and hold bitcoin.

I was a "bit" luckier than that, I ended up selling mine, but I sold mine waaaaaay too early, it is like it wasn't even worth it, I remember selling at 500 dollars at one point, and 1k some others and 3k for the rest. I feel a bit lucky because whatever I made afterwards I sold at 20k, but I had sooo much more that I could have hold and not sold and then I would be a millionaire by now.

It is really a sad feeling to go back and calculate how much money went into your wallet and what it worths today, mine says 101 bitcoin in just one wallet, the others are not that much so I can't say much, maybe 2-3 bitcoins total, but all around it is 100 bitcoins that I sold total, and I didn't even got 100k for it, let alone 3 million like I should have if I sold today. I lost to gambling as well, and I sold the rest, never got interested in cloud mining fortunately.

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[dezoel]

Cubans are a different situation then Venezuelans, that is going to be a lot different for a very long time as well. Cubans are living in a world where Russia once sent thousands of cars from aaalll the way from other side of the world versus getting a car from nearby USA, Florida is literally right there!

So as long as Cuba never evolves a trade partnership with a world power just a small distance away, they are not going to get better, no nation would. Hell let's see if all of the world stops trading with USA and how they are doing, they will be destroyed within 10 years, be as bad as Cuba for sure without a doubt in my mind, why? Because they are banned with working together with any nation. Venezuela on the other hand is a petrostate and they make money from Oil, they didn't invest into anything else and filled officials pockets with most oil profits, so the moment oil prices went down they became horrible, if it goes up then they will be better too.

[just_Alice]

Indeed, with their inflation rate Bitcoin is a real life saver. It's good to know that Bitcoin is popular among people in Venezuela, which makes it, if I'm not mistaken, in top-3 countries by Bitcoin usage.

LOL.. Venezuela in top-3? Do you have any proof to support this absurd claim? As far as I know, the top 3 countries in terms of Bitcoin volume are - United States, Japan and China. I don't think that Venezuela ranks even among the top-10. Bitcoin is getting popular in Venezuela, but the average holding per capita and the overall trade volumes are quite low. On top of that, it is not 100% legal there. The government hasn't created any regulation, to legalize cryptocurrency in that country. In Venezuela, Bitcoin remains in the grey zone.

The true number is hard to figure but my claim was based on the Chainalysis cryptocurrency adoption report from 2020 (scroll down to the table behind the link). The report is on all crypto, but I think it is without a doubt that the most popular cryptocurrency in Venezuela is Bitcoin.

Yes, things might have changed in a year, but since then the popularity of crypto has only been growing, especially in third-world countries, it would be logical to assume that the attitude towards Bitcoin has at least remained at the same level as before in Venezuela

I’m talking here exclusively about everyday use ranking, no mining or asset volume are included in these calculations.

[Caldear]

Bitcoin helps Cuba and Venezuela reflect its important influence on people, and it is also beneficial to Bitcoin itself.
Bitcoin is decentralized and scarce. The use of Bitcoin for transactions can be free from government supervision and restriction, and it can also effectively control inflation.
They use Bitcoin to express their recognition and acceptance of it. The more people use it, it can increase its liquidity, and its value will rise according to the increase in demand.

[Davidvictorson]

This is an excellent and typical example of the advantage of cryptocurrencies over Fiat which the central banks of certain nations are trying so hard to fight. I'm sure Satoshi for saw this when he/she/they created Bitcoin.

What's happening in Cuba has also happened in a certain West African Nations in October, 2020, when the country's youths protested against police brutality. A group known as Feminist Coalition received the total sum of N150,062,460.57 (One Hundred and Fifty Million, Sixty Two Thousand, Four Hundred and Sixty Naira, Fifty Seven Kobo ) only was realized from the donations platforms. The money was received through various currencies such as BTC USD, CAD. GBP, EUR, GHS, and KES, during the protests from individuals all over the world. The funds were used to cover food and water for protesters as well as medical supplies and hospital bills when necessary. Interesting to note was the group's financial integrity and accountability. They shared a breakdown of how they spent the donations received during the  protests on their website and social media handles.

It's a good thing that at this time when oppressors are in the rise, Bitcoin has come to the rescue.

https://www.36ng.ng/2021/05/08/feminist-coalition-publishes-audited-accounts-of-endsars-donations/

[bryant.coleman]

Chainalysis cryptocurrency adoption report from 2020[/url] (scroll down to the table behind the link). The report is on all crypto, but I think it is without a doubt that the most popular cryptocurrency in Venezuela is Bitcoin.

Yes, things might have changed in a year, but since then the popularity of crypto has only been growing, especially in third-world countries, it would be logical to assume that the attitude towards Bitcoin has at least remained at the same level as before in Venezuela

I’m talking here exclusively about everyday use ranking, no mining or asset volume are included in these calculations.

There is no doubt that Bitcoin (and some of the other cryptocurrencies) are insanely popular in Venezuela. But given their small population (20 million?) and relatively low purchasing power, I don't think that Venezuela accounts for a large share of the global cryptocurrency volumes. The numbers for Cuba will be even lower. Countries with relatively high purchasing power, such as the United States and Japan will be on top of the list. In terms of adoption, Venezuela will be one of the top-most countries. But the same can't be said about absolute volumes.

[bosede1]

This is only possible from my end because of two things; one bitcoin possesses the feature of the store of value and with this, the countries concerned can actually trade with it. Two, the parties involved accepting bitcoin as a means of transaction, if this is not so it can never happen even though bitcoin can be of use to them and not ban by their irrespective government.

[SquallLeonhart]

For OPSEC reasons I don't (personally) want to go in to this topic too heavily myself, but this is already happening.

I have known about Venezuelans for years using BTC (and Dash) as a partial substitute for their worthless currency and hard-to-get US dollar fiat.  Apparently these efforts have been quite helpful to those in Venezuela in a position to use cryptos to make their lives better.

Now Cuban-Americans are sending BTC to embattled Cuba.  I do not know the amounts though.

These really ARE excellent use-cases in which BTC is helping to add value to the lives of those under oppression.  This is clearly a good thing.

These were always the usecase for bitcoin and people somehow forgot about it. Remember bitcoin was created because fiat was something that is not as good as it can get, it is corrupted and centralized and all the bad people are using it to make themselves richer and make you poorer. With crypto you could have fair grounds and everyone is equal, who does this help? People who are living in a nation that has horrible fiat currency and very limited rights.

This would be perfect for women in Saudi Arabia, people in North Korea, some people in china, in any place where government is dictatorial would be perfect example of this and would definitely help. I personally think that people will eventually realize this, but it will take their governments taking more and more rights away from them and fiat price would drop even more, inflation should be a lot more.

[Silberman]

I have known this has been happening in Venezuela for a very long time but right now with the difficult and critical times that those living in Cuba are going through this is even more critical there, this is one of the great use cases of bitcoin, if a person sends money to Cuba to a family member and especially if they are sending dollars not only they lose a percentage to the government they do not even receive the dollars and receive the local and worthless currency, with bitcoin you can send the coins directly to the one you want, however the government of Cuba is also blocking the Internet so access to those coins will be intermittent.

I believe this latest news from Cuba is good news for some crypto users in that country.

https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/censorship-circumvention-tool-helps-14-million-cubans-get-internet-access-2021-07-16/

Psiphon network is offering their service to "maximize your chances of bypassing censorship". So maybe, for those who want to send crypto to their family in Cuba, they can use the app to bypass their government's tight security protocol.

This is great news, I really hope that a bitcoin economy develops there as with internet access and a smartphone people can make use of cryptocurrencies, and if they use the lightning network then they can pay very low fees on their purchases and their family members can send them money knowing full well they are not supporting an authoritarian government that gets to steal all the dollars they send and keep them for themselves, now it is the turn of those living in Cuba to take advantage of the technology and use it for their benefit.

[Shenzou]

I think this truly what the bitcoin was created for and this is what people should take and should aim for when developing a cryptocurrency, the ability to be able to ascend all the ties and all the shackles put on by our governments and the control that they have over us, the bitcoin is making the world a more balanced place by giving power to the people and providing new opportunities for those who can't find it because it is not provided by the country.

[Sithara007]

This would be perfect for women in Saudi Arabia, people in North Korea, some people in china, in any place where government is dictatorial would be perfect example of this and would definitely help. I personally think that people will eventually realize this, but it will take their governments taking more and more rights away from them and fiat price would drop even more, inflation should be a lot more.

Bitcoin is not suitable for such purposes, because it is not an anonymous currency. Each and every transaction is recorded in the Blockchain and it makes easier for the authorities to track down the users and prosecute them. On paper, you can use DEX platforms and P2P exchanges to trade your coins, but even these avenues are not 100% safe. The point you convert your BTC to fiat, it no longer remains anonymous. And all it takes is one such transaction, to trace back all of your cryptocurrency dealings.

[Silberman]

I think this truly what the bitcoin was created for and this is what people should take and should aim for when developing a cryptocurrency, the ability to be able to ascend all the ties and all the shackles put on by our governments and the control that they have over us, the bitcoin is making the world a more balanced place by giving power to the people and providing new opportunities for those who can't find it because it is not provided by the country.

This show us that not only the Cuban government is only looking for themselves but many of the rest of the countries are doing the same as well, they are expressing their concerns that the people of Cuba cannot get support from their family members living in other countries because the government steals the money they send and yet they never propose for the people to begin to use bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, why? Because they have been describing bitcoin as a tool of terrorists and if it was used for something like this in a massive way the perception the people have of bitcoin will change overnight.

[Kelvinid]

...

For OPSEC reasons I don't (personally) want to go in to this topic too heavily myself, but this is already happening.

I have known about Venezuelans for years using BTC (and Dash) as a partial substitute for their worthless currency and hard-to-get US dollar fiat.  Apparently these efforts have been quite helpful to those in Venezuela in a position to use cryptos to make their lives better.

Now Cuban-Americans are sending BTC to embattled Cuba.  I do not know the amounts though.

These really ARE excellent use-cases in which BTC is helping to add value to the lives of those under oppression.  This is clearly a good thing.

I was hoping that this could have a big help for them to live better but the question is if it becomes sustainable and if it gains support from their leaders knowing that how corrupt are they. I was delighted with such changes but I was also afraid if their leaders will seize all of their holdings just like it happens to the other country. 

https://decrypt.co/68676/cuba-cryptocurrency-communist-party-agenda

[Hispo]

Indeed, with their inflation rate Bitcoin is a real life saver. It's good to know that Bitcoin is popular among people in Venezuela, which makes it, if I'm not mistaken, in top-3 countries by Bitcoin usage.

What's worth noticing is that venezuelans sticked with Bitcoin. I remember there were times when the government tried to trick people and created their own cryptocurrency Petro, which was centralized, but people saw right through that plan and didn't switch to the latter.
Too bad that people in China can't see what's going to happen there soon.

Our goverment here is highly hypocritical when comes to Bitcoin & Petro.
Petro can't be mined only bought with USD, Bs and actual crypto currrencies like BTC, LTC, DOGE, DASH.

On the other hand, military here have built their own mining farms with stolen and seized ASICs from the populance, of course they only mine the real deal: BTC.

Let's not forget these people are socialists.

[MartinsCoin]

The 2020 annual inflation rate in Venezuela reached 6,500%, causing many Venezuelans to switch to the US dollar. According to the Venezuelan think tank Ecoanalitica, more than half of all financial transactions
of the country, that is, about 66% are made in the American currency. As a result of this Venezuelan hyperinflation, the trade in cryptocurrencies paid for with the Venezuelan bolivar has greatly increased.

In Venezuela, there are many cryptotraders who are among the most active in the world, alongside the US and Russia, when it comes to peer-to-peer (P2P) trading of dollar-based cryptocurrencies, this claim is made by
Chainalysis New York blockchain analysts. In Cuba, the situation with bitcoin seems to be progressing, on 8/26/2021 the Ministry of Economy published resolution 215/2021 which now recognizes cryptocurrencies and bitcoin
authorizing its use mainly for reasons of socioeconomic interest. With this resolution, Cubans will be able to trade bitcoin because, due to economic embargoes imposed by the United States since 1960, Cuba has always had problems with the use of the US dollar and bitcoin can help move the local economy, one of the problems encountered with this regulation is due to political and economic instability
of the country, which makes it unlikely that its regulation will follow a decentralized model as in El Salvador, but in any case it is a good start.

[Charot12345]

...

For OPSEC reasons I don't (personally) want to go in to this topic too heavily myself, but this is already happening.

I have known about Venezuelans for years using BTC (and Dash) as a partial substitute for their worthless currency and hard-to-get US dollar fiat.  Apparently these efforts have been quite helpful to those in Venezuela in a position to use cryptos to make their lives better.

Now Cuban-Americans are sending BTC to embattled Cuba.  I do not know the amounts though.

These really ARE excellent use-cases in which BTC is helping to add value to the lives of those under oppression.  This is clearly a good thing.

yes, it was a really good thing for them. And it was great that they know about it. It can save them financially like everyone who earns and trusts bitcoin all over the world. It shows the real reasons why bitcoin was created, and that was to give and help everyone financially. The government can't limit them or get their own money form them.

[MKings]

Bitcoin can help anyone as long as you need it.
Don't do bad things with Bitcoin. Although Bitcoin is anonymous, every transaction is recorded on the public chain.
Many major countries have not yet officially adopted Bitcoin. But there is no ban on Bitcoin.
I believe that the use of Bitcoin will become more and more popular in the future. More and more countries allow the use of Bitcoin, because the value of Bitcoin is slowly being discovered by everyone.

[Kong Hey Pakboy]

Not Cubans, they're a communist country so I don't think that they're going to benefit too much with bitcoin plus they wouldn't have any use of it if they have one because they probably rely on P2P and I am pretty sure that there's not a lot of people there that have money to buy their crypto.

[ultrloa]

Not Cubans, they're a communist country so I don't think that they're going to benefit too much with bitcoin plus they wouldn't have any use of it if they have one because they probably rely on P2P and I am pretty sure that there's not a lot of people there that have money to buy their crypto.

Well we cannot really say that since we don't know more deeper about their situation but we cannot disclose that they can't afford to buy bitcoins as they still have works and businesses so for sure they can afford to buy at any amount they can spend with it. And since there's a news spreading about Cuba is thinking about legalizing bitcoin then for sure their government is now looking for possibilities and how they can get benefit for adopting it, maybe in next following months we can see their decision so let see what will happen to it as for sure they are now monitoring on the progress of El Salvador after they accept bitcoin as their Legal tender.

[oHnK]

Not Cubans, they're a communist country so I don't think that they're going to benefit too much with bitcoin plus they wouldn't have any use of it if they have one because they probably rely on P2P and I am pretty sure that there's not a lot of people there that have money to buy their crypto.

Well we cannot really say that since we don't know more deeper about their situation but we cannot disclose that they can't afford to buy bitcoins as they still have works and businesses so for sure they can afford to buy at any amount they can spend with it. And since there's a news spreading about Cuba is thinking about legalizing bitcoin then for sure their government is now looking for possibilities and how they can get benefit for adopting it, maybe in next following months we can see their decision so let see what will happen to it as for sure they are now monitoring on the progress of El Salvador after they accept bitcoin as their Legal tender.

Cuba is very serious about its plans to legalize Bitcoin as a legal tender.  Like El Salvador, which first made it a legal tender in the country.  Currently, the people of El Salvador must have made a very large profit especially because the market has returned to its stable position.  If 2 months ago they had Bitcoin in their hands then today the value of BTC they have held will increase very high.  Is there any money in this world that appreciates more than Bitcoin.  Even the USD alone is not that strong.