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Tether earns many billions by investing the hundreds of billions received from issuing stablecoins, yet pay out no interest or dividends to those holding those stablecoins.
That is giving them a war chest that is (and will continue to) fund all kinds of innovations that ... increases Utility of their stablecoins.
But it is still just representative money. One USDT is essentially an IOU from Tether, and I just have to trust they keep sufficient reserves (and are not at risk of govt seizure) so that one USDT will remain valued at ~$1.
But a slow drain of its monetary value over time will slowly transfer the wealth of its holders to those who can produce the medium at a low cost. This is a lesson worth remembering when we turn to the discussion of the soundness of government money in the later parts of the book.
Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly.
they seem to be involved in everything lately
Yup....
Tether is also a backer of a (KYC) wallet called Sorted.
What's unique is they build android to work on older releases of Android as well, which is nice because there are many older smartphones still in use in the Global South. And they support KaiOS feature phones, which are surprisingly affordable.
Also lets you convert to (but not from) local fiat using mobile money as well.
I've not installed it because it requires KYC, but they claim LN support is coming (if not arrived already, haven't checked). And Tether Gold, as well as Liquid, and more.
Also, Google Business listings.
So many shops can increase their sales revenue and branding by showing up on Google's Map. But most shop owners don't even know they should be doing that, or don't have the time or interest to do so.
There's ZERO capital required to create a listing on behalf of the shop, (given that you have permission to claim the listing or create one on their behalf.
Figure out the description, store location, hours, etc, and take some pics -- voila, a professional business listing for the shop. Sure, in the beginning without a portfolio of other shops to use for reference / testimonials, it might involve doing some freebies (everyone has a shop keep they are buddies with ... start there, until you have a small portfolio, then only service those willing to pay).
A selfie stick and a smartphone is all that's needed.
Now that there are 50+ million people in the U.S. who can pay a LN invoice with two button presses (thanks CashApp for adding pay an LN invoice from your USD balance), some youth could find a cause, and then do a live stream to raise funds for that cause.
The person doing the livestream would, like most any charity, earn a small cut from the funds raised. That's assumed to occur by most rational western donors.
So let's say that during the livestream the donations total $120, then say $12 goes to person who raised the funds from the crowd. That's still $104 that went to the cause.
But for this to gain traction, there likely would be many livestreams, where donations total $0 or $10 --- before subscribers subscribe, and donors donate.
Donors donate in bitcoin (to an LN Address, or to a zero-amount invoice LN Invoice)
One cause, one show. The funds received (minus the fundraising fee) are used during the livestream, or with a followup video shortly after.
These could be projects like what Zidisha is used for: https://www.zidisha.org/projects
Or it could just be local needs within the community. Many hurdles exist where $70 would make all the difference in the world, and while initially there might be only a dozen or so people watching, even just a few of those viewers feeling compelled to donate might raise enough to make that difference.
This is ripe for fraud (raising funds and not paying out), so maybe the use of Geyser fund or something like that gets set up for each livestream -- and that way there are some controls. But do this week after week and there'll like be a growing subscriber base, and momentum to make an income from it while raising funds for many causes.
1.) Poverty (no savings, scarcity mindset)
2.) Access to required technology and/or internet access not being affordable
If you were to offer to pay youth in bitcoin, even for a something like collecting refuse, most would take you up on your offer. That might be their only income source for the week, month, or year.
But even once they receive the bitcoin, are they going to hodl? They might have debts. They may want to enjoy the fruits of their labor. So when whatever income arrives, it oftentimes gets spent immediately (i.e., "hand-to-mouth", or paycheck-to-paycheck lifestyle). Thus the "selling point" for engaging with bitcoin can't be the (upside) benefits to holding bitcoin, because they know they won't be holding bitcoin for long -- just like they aren't currently holding cash.
Then for the technical details. Sure, there's Machankura, for those who only have a candy bar/feature phone, but they aren't really able to experience the same, convenient UX like that of a smartphone user with a Blink wallet, for instance.
And even those who achieve smartphone ownership, ... unless they can rely on there being wi-fi where they spend, bitcoin no longer has the cost advantage as having to purchase mobile data just to be able to spend in bitcoin makes the bitcoin payment more expensive than using mobile money or cash.
So without easy access to earning bitcoin, without conviction in the need to save, and without easy ways to hodl ... or eventually to spend some bitcoin, there's little likelihood of actually applying what would be learned to their own lives.
See also #1263434:
Tether's Stablecoin Touches Over 6% Of The World's Population, Says CEO
https://www.zerohedge.com/crypto/tethers-stablecoin-touches-625-worlds-population-says-ceo
The 10 minute edit window has passed.
Here's what I first wrote,
"Hotel" = restaurant
"Comrade" = fellow broke ass (i.e., not necessarily used only by socialists and commies)
You can pay using Machankura (wallet), from your $12 feature phone.
.
Or, if Sorted Wallet has LN support now, then you can install that wallet as a KaiOS app on your $25 Nokia 2720.
.
For smartphones, you have options. Blink.sv is the now the most common LN wallet app on the streets.
Translation(s), per AI Chat:
Hotel: In Kenya, the word "hotel" often refers to a small restaurant or an affordable eatery, not necessarily a place to sleep. Locally, "hotel" is commonly used for simple dining places found across both urban and rural areas, especially in lower-income neighborhoods and slums.
Comrade: In the slums and informal settlements of Kenya, especially in places like Mathare, "comrade" can also refer to anyone facing similar economic struggles, those sharing the everyday challenges of life in tough environments. Here, the word suggests a sense of trust, shared experience, and practical loyalty—it signals someone who can be relied upon in difficult times, irrespective of their background or exact affiliation.
Certainly, I could have picked a better example.
But referring to internationally recognized (sovereign) countries, the UK fits.
silly stereotypes westerners have about other parts of the globe
Keep good notes ... you (too) could even write a book about it!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africa_Is_Not_a_Country#Content
Indeed it would have been. Thanks for pointing that out. I thought I had ~privacy selected, but alas it definitely was miscategorized.