{"id":373062,"date":"2019-02-28T20:00:35","date_gmt":"2019-02-28T20:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ktsl888.com\/?p=373062"},"modified":"2019-03-11T20:33:31","modified_gmt":"2019-03-11T20:33:31","slug":"counter-argument-a-caracas-based-journalist-says-bitcoin-is-not-saving-venezuela","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ktsl888.com\/news\/counter-argument-a-caracas-based-journalist-says-bitcoin-is-not-saving-venezuela\/","title":{"rendered":"Counter Argument: A Caracas-Based Journalist Says Bitcoin is Not Saving Venezuela"},"content":{"rendered":"
While Venezuela\u2019s economy<\/a> continues to suffer under the haphazard mismanagement by Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, it has caused the country’s citizens to rely on Bitcoin as a currency, store of value, and its use to transfer funds across borders.<\/p>\n Bitcoin<\/a> has been at the center of many discussions claiming that the entire country is turning to the leading crypto by market cap, with one recent op-ed in the New York Times offering up a story how it saved one struggling Venezuelan citizen\u2019s family. However, a new counter-argument is suggesting that Bitcoin\u2019s usage and dominance in the economically strapped country is extremely overstated, and is instead is being used to fuel cryptocurrency-promoting campaigns.<\/p>\n A recent opinion piece published by the New York Times<\/a> entitled \u201cBitcoin Has Saved My Family,\u201d has the crypto world buzzing. Bitcoin\u2019s deflationary design, its existence outside the control of governments and financial institutions, and its use as a store of value and transactional currency make the first ever cryptocurrency especially valuable for nations in economic turmoil or those without meaningful banking infrastructure.<\/p>\n The article\u2019s author told a tale of how due to the rapidly declining value of the bolivar \u2013 Venezuela\u2019s fiat currency \u2013 he buys Bitcoin from LocalBitcoins and uses it to send money to family members, or cashes it out to the bolivar when its time to actually spend money on essentials such as groceries, or in the article\u2019s example, a carton of milk.<\/p>\n Related Reading |\u00a0Bitcoin Is A Hedge Against Bolivar-Induced Financial Suicide, Claims Venezuelan Economist<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Many may wonder why someone would prefer to keep their spending money in Bitcoin when the price of the cryptocurrency has declined over 84% since it\u2019s all-time high price of $20,000, however, bolivar\u2019s annual inflation rate in 2018 was nearly 1.7 million percent. To avoid the value of the author\u2019s funds from falling too much, he finds Bitcoin to be a safer method that better preserves its value.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Recently, a counter-argument was made<\/a> against the New York Times piece, penned by a journalist from Venezuela\u2019s capital, Caracas. The author details how, despite conflicting reports and dominant majority trading volume on LocalBitcoins<\/a> originating from Venezuela, the country is \u201cnot becoming a Bitcoin nation.\u201d<\/p>\n The author himself previously published an article about \u201chow Bitcoin is a lifeline for some Venezuelans,\u201d he doesn\u2019t want to \u201coverstate the popularity of bitcoin in Venezuela.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd please don\u2019t use our crisis to attract attention to your crypto campaign,\u201d the author pleads.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The author claims that although the nation has its own native cryptocurrency in the oil-backed Petro, and many are indeed turning to Bitcoin, the country\u2019s citizens are still generally confused by crypto, and don\u2019t yet trust the asset class as a medium of exchange. Others outright think it\u2019s a scam, or lack the technological infrastructure to even access cryptocurrency.<\/p>\nArgument: Bitcoin Is Saving Families During the Venezuela Economic Crisis<\/h2>\n
Counter-Argument: Venezuela\u2019s Reliance on Bitcoin Is Far Overstated<\/h2>\n