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September 18, 2014, 07:33:36 PM |
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As much as developing countries can benefit from bitcoin, I'd lean toward not pushing it toward them until transaction volum increases and prices stabilize. Because if it is to truly be an international payment system like so many hope, it's volatility is going to need to go way down. We in the developed world can put some savings into bitcoin, see the price fall, and replenish our savings from work. In the third world, savings don't exist like they do here - people moving from their local currency to bitcoin, only to see a significant drop will suffer to a much greater extent.
Bitcoins got potential. In the third world, it's biggest role is likely to be in he remittance market, just as an intermediate unit of account (sender buys bitcoins, sends to recipient in different country, who immediately redeems hose coins for local currency). I wonder how bitcoin stands currently - yes, transferring bitcoins is incredibly cheap, but when you factor in the spread from buying the coins on one side of the sea and the transaction, and selling for currency on the other side, how do those fees stack up compared to more traditional remittance schemes?
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