The truth of Venezuela: Bitcoin can't save Venezuela

Encrypted Ukiyo-e | After leaving Latin America, cryptocurrencies are still a little distant from my life.
When it comes to bitcoin payments, many people react surprisingly: they are not just needed.

It is not .

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As for mobile payment and credit cards, they have been stable for many years. Secondly, ATMs are not left there. The key is that in terms of purchasing power, what can be bought today for 100 yuan can be bought tomorrow.

Yes, you told me that there are various benefits to decentralized currency. I also understand the future, but please answer me one question: What is the use of Alipay, why do you have to change it to cryptocurrency?

The majority of Latin American people do not think so.

The protagonist of this article is Ms. EA [1], a psychologist from Caracas, the capital of Venezuela. She introduced me to a series of "painful daily" caused by inflation:

For example, the credit card raises the eye and can't keep up with the speed of inflation: a small bag of rice is priced at 1000 today, and it will become 2000 next week. Another example is the extreme shortage of supplies: one ticket is hard to find, and some construction workers can't buy a ticket to go home, simply hit the ground floor near the construction site. What's more, a friend of EA died of lung infection because he could not buy antibiotics. Note that it is "can't buy".

When you admire poetry and distance, you may have thought that it might be like this in the distance.

EA said that there are 10 credit cards in the hands of everyone, and the money for the week is not enough. Later, it is really no problem, EA said otherwise try the cryptocurrency.

There is cryptocurrency with inflation

I knew these things when I was traveling in Colombia (Medlin). This place is very magical. Although it is close to Venezuela, it has not been hit hard by the inflation of the next door. The social security is good, the cultural atmosphere is very strong, and the key prices are cheap. Therefore, the muffled sound has become a resort for “going out to work”.

Every time I go to a place, I will pay attention to the recent activities. I found something strange when I was in Medellin: Twenty activities are actually Dash, and the invitation says that the event provides lunch and free gifts: installation The Dash wallet offers a free pizza corner.

This is a bit strange. I switched to 20 countries last year, and I haven't seen such a promotion of kuan (kuang). This reminds me of the coupons and four words in the previous yellow pages: simple and rude.

So, how does Dash go to Colombia to feel the presence?

I was a bit curious (mainly because of singles), and decided to find out, the event met the head of Colombia Dash GD [2].

The event is located in a joint office, the name is very nice, called Selina, there seems to be everything inside: tattoo shop, DJ kiosk, meditation room (??), the wall is the more kind of graffiti, there is a big restaurant outside . Anyway, it is the kind of exaggerated and exaggerated place, amazing to me.

GD is a Philadelphia native and has been moving to Medellin for almost 20 years. According to his conclusion, Latin America is quite special. Some areas belong to the combination of "strong power Internet facilities + weak government + large population". Dash also saw this particularity and expected to make a difference.

According to Peruvian economists[3], billions of people in Latin America are in an informal economy, and the financial system is in a mess. Our group of spoiled Americans have no way to do the same (using Bitcoin’s words, These are people who have no bank). This kind of economy is somewhat legal and the "special" legal economy. Economists explain this: "Whether a few elites enjoy the convenience of law and globalization, most of the operators are still stricken, and assets such as sluggish capital in the shadow of the law are generally dying."

This sentence is a high-level summary of Colombia. According to WorldAtlas data, Colombia relies on 64% of the country's informal employment rate, and Colombia has successfully squeezed into the top ten (seventh) of the global informal economy. Latin American countries seem to lead the global informal economy: Guatemala, Honduras, Peru, El Salvador, Paraguay, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic are all on the list.

Therefore, financial technology is a big problem here. Without a bank, there is no credit status, but a blockchain can help solve this problem. It is precisely because of the weak infrastructure in Colombia that the blockchain solution can be implemented (interested friends can pay attention to the concept of leapfrog[4], to the effect that developing countries without traditional banking structures can still make blockchain technology. For your own use; Note: leapfrog is similar to the little kid jumping game). The popular point is that it is easy to rebuild the old building or build it directly on the open space.
There are cryptocurrencies… swindlers

Later, I also talked to the local residents about the cryptocurrency. This is because there are too many scammers, and the overall cryptocurrency has no good feelings. It is no wonder that there is no good way to get rich in the country. People see that there are opportunities to make money, no matter how you understand or not, they are swarming up, and then they are squatting.

Like GladiaCoin, OneCoin and MeCoin, they are famous scams. Extraordinary domineering, when you come up, you will be eager to make your face "as long as 30 days and 1000 to 2000", so successful in taking the hard-earned money of ordinary people all over the country, not to mention the admission, but also to put relatives and friends into it.

We know that the pyramid scam has a characteristic that it is just beginning to be feasible. It has thrown more than three million pesos (Colombian currency, 3 million pesos is equal to 1,000 US dollars). In a blink of an eye, it has become more than 6 million, which makes people special to sell iron. It is also the instigation of ALLIN, but we also know that the group that first swayed was basically depressed.

Some people have concluded that the reason why Latin America is a scam is that the economic situation is really poor is the main reason: anyway, this is already the case, and the dead horse is a doctor.

In this way, the reputation of the cryptocurrency as a whole has also been affected. Some people are self-defeating and don’t know how to make a long snack. Some people think that it is time to clear up the environment of black smoke, and it is also time to find some reliable projects to support the positive adoption of cryptocurrency. On the other hand, the Colombian government still has a relatively conservative attitude towards cryptocurrency, but its underlying technology is not. To put it bluntly, it is to want a blockchain without cryptocurrency.

Later, I went to the blockchain center in Colombia. The person in charge of the center [5] was very enthusiastic about showing to the people of developed countries what is “basic banknotes that are not used in wool”: the toaster is so big that a small box of glass tiles It is worth $3.

The reason why this small box is placed in a conspicuous position is to always spur everyone: cryptocurrency is really important. The person in charge said that the center is currently working with the Colombian government to create a local Innovation Token (probably called "Medlin Coin") for local startup financing, which is scheduled to be released in October this year.

Another gospel brought by the blockchain for the majority of the Colombian people is the resolution of identity issues. As a big problem that plagues people all over the world, identity authentication is particularly prominent in Colombia. For example, medical insurance procedures must provide 10 certificates, and tax filing is more complicated. Calling the second dragon is 20 proofs. In view of the complexity of tax returns, the general practice is to hire an accountant to handle a series of formalities. However, the average person’s income is only a small amount, so he can only come a little bit by himself. This problem has reached the point where it cannot be solved.

There are liar and down-to-earth people.

We know that Bitcoin has a block in 10 minutes, and the current block reward is 12.5 bitcoins, which is halved after May 26, 2020.

Because 100% of the rewards are owned by the miners, this has led the majority of mining workers to solve the problem of this world [6], and this process is also the process of verifying transactions and ensuring the security of the blockchain.

Dash's words are not the same. Miners take 45% of the rewards, the main node [7] takes 45%, and the remaining 10% gives Dash Treasury.

Dash Treasury is a pool of capital that can support important projects (or meaningful projects), and various development teams can submit recommendations to Dash on how to use this portion of the funds, similar to the use of corporate funds by various departments in the enterprise. Present the opinions of this department.

I said, there are more than twenty Dash activities, where are the funds. With the grant, GD can (sell) hire people to sell Dash to merchants from house to house. So far, Dash has 315 merchants in Colombia, most of which are concentrated in Medellin. Dash's marketing strategy is biased towards the traditional retail marketing approach, which means that the project promotion is not a "word of mouth" route.

Although CoinLogiq's ATM does not only support Bitcoin, it also supports Ethereum, Litecoin and Dash. However, GD said that there is no competition here, and the encryption circle is now "busy", busy to participate in various high-end activities, busy with guilt, busy to dig their own ecology. And we (Dash) are taking root in the developing world, one step at a time. According to him, the current number of active Dash wallet users in Colombia is 1422.

I feel that I can't just listen to the Dash family. I should also listen to the ideas of young and old in Colombia. After asking a taxi driver, tour guide, bartender, etc., I don't seem to have heard Dash.

To be fair, this may be because the Dash team is not going to sweep the street for a long time. In addition, the bear market is another reason. Although the encrypted Twitter is full of "up and down fearless.", "We focus on project building." and a series of "positive energy" remarks, far away is chicken soup, close to see is dog blood. In January last year, the price of Dash was $1,338. As of the publication of the article, it has fallen to $80. Therefore, the price rise and fall can not be indifferent, because it will directly affect the purchasing power. However, according to the CD, the current decline can also be tolerated, but it has affected the overall expansion of the currency, and the merchants have been faintly unhappy.

Expansion is not without, in view of Dash's sweeping attitude, the number of Dash merchants in Colombia is currently the third in the world. In general, the country's cryptocurrency usage is more optimistic than expected. According to CoinDance's trading statistics on local Bitcoin [8], the Colombian peso is a relatively common pairing method for Bitcoin. (The top ten common pairs are: Russian Ruble, Venezuelan Bolivar, US Dollar, Nigerian Naira, Renminbi, British Pound, Colombian Peso, Euro, Indian Rupee, Peruvian New Sol)

Merchants are only part of the expansion of the map, in view of the fact that thousands of Venezuelan people have poured into Colombia, and most people have just had to send money to their homes, Dash also saw the opportunity to save money, Quickly transfer this seven inch.

Ok, now we turn our attention back to where the story begins: Venezuela.

With cryptocurrencies, there are assets that need protection.

In the first two years, EA was in poor health and could only rest at home. In view of the fact that domestic inflation is too strong, after returning to the workplace, EA feels that earning glass tiles is not very secure. At first, she wanted to make dollars. She didn't want the domestic government to prepare for this. First, she did not allow citizens to hold overseas accounts. All credit cards were in Venezuela, so the Paypal route obviously could not get through.

Later, EA began to investigate various cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin is of course an option, but she prefers Dash to retain 10% of the mining incentives to the Treasury. In theory, with this part of the financial support, you can establish your own ecology in Venezuela. One month after EA submitted the application, the subsidy was reviewed. The local Dash community is still very active, and various teams are committed to developing the local ecology. As a result, Venezuela has so far 2,427 merchants accepting Dash payments, compared with more than 200 in the United States.

Speaking of this, there is a problem that has been bothering me: do these people have smartphones?

The facts show that most do not. Only 40% of the population in Venezuela owns a smartphone, so Dash combines this situation to create a set of "SMS encryption currency." Specifically, it is the form of editing the text message to check the transfer and the balance. Although it is a bit clumsy, it is good to use.

Sending money with Dash Text is good, especially for migrant workers who need to send money to their homes on a regular basis. Dash Text has been used by more than 3,000 people in a month. The next step is to concentrate on marketing and find KOL to encourage around the social media. At present, this kind of SMS operation method is only one place in Venezuela, but the Dash team also plans to expand to countries with large demand for remittances and low smartphone holding rates in Nigeria and India. In addition, Dash plans to integrate ideas into communication platforms such as whatsapp and telegram.

Venezuela Dash also adopted the street sweeping method next door in promotion. If it can't wait for "natural growth", it can only be manually "small seedlings". I can't wait for people's utilitarianism, but because the domestic situation is really bad. A group of delegates, relying on financial support, went deep into the fields, one-on-one teaching merchants used wallets, and also actively helped merchants to publicize freely (in fact, this propaganda is basically Dash helping to shout a slap in the face).

Therefore, the merchants are really happy to use Dash, do not ask a question?

As a merchant, first of all concerned about the legality of the operation. However, don't forget that the Venezuelan government has taken the initiative to bring its own cryptocurrency (Petro) [9], which also laid the legal foundation for the cryptocurrency as a whole, and naturally there is nothing to worry about. Thanks to Petro, the Venezuelan people are more open to cryptocurrencies. People log in to their bank accounts, and in addition to the balance of the glass tiles, there is a corresponding Petro balance, isn't it cool.

Among the various businesses recruited by Dash, there are individual shops, chains such as Subway, Papa Johns, and even real estate agents. In short, the type around daily life is considered to be "necessary." Merchants."

Investing in Dash is actually protecting its own assets. Therefore, from the perspective of the Venezuelan people, 2018 can also be regarded as a bull market. The more the glass corrugated, the more glass tiles that Dash can buy.

The inconvenience caused by inflation is far more than just buying milk and tickets. For example, if you go to the ATM to withdraw money and take a $5 glass tile, the ATM will be empty, so the traditional ATM model obviously has no more eggs in this special period. Later, Coinlogiq combined with Venezuelan national conditions to invent a new type of gladiator. 'Withdrawal mode, when the cryptocurrency is extracted, the equivalent glass tile will be sent to your bank, thus eliminating the need to take 5 yuan to spit a morning banknote or no banknotes to spit.

Later, I heard that other countries are considering using cryptocurrency. EA said that they don't understand this kind of brain circuit ("How much is your life going to a deep level, friend."), but this is exactly the same reaction as my other friends.

After leaving Latin America, I returned to my familiar life, still using the credit card, ATM, cryptocurrency and me, still far away. However, I will still recall the story that EA told me: A friend said that since the use of cryptocurrency, for the first time, there is no need to worry about the cost of living for the next week. (Orange Book)

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