So, I saw some contents like (Turkey is dying)[https://youtu.be/4EBmuH3pYOA?si=Crwhz1WbCRukDOoj], (Ethiopia cracking down on foreign exchange)[https://birrmetrics.com/the-central-bank-widens-crackdown-on-illicit-forex-as-over-140-accounts-face-restrictions/] etc. and when I look at the details, all of them have the common themes of
- exchange rates collapsing (against stable fiats like USD/GBP etc.)
- inflation wiping away peoples' savings
- capital control and government confiscation of bank accounts, bail in, especially targeting people who hold foreign currency accounts etc
In other words, precisely the use case Bitcoin was meant for. But when I see (BTC Map)[https://btcmap.org/map#3/34.71707/24.96094], it seems the entire merchant adoption is concentrated in the western world, cities like Zurich, Austin have many merchants (still small compared to the overall number of businesses) accepting Bitcoin, but not Ethiopian or Turkish cities, obviously.
I cannot ascribe it to the lack of technology, as so many countries (even India, China etc.) have massive smartphone penetration even in the rural areas. So can I conclude that it is purely the ignorance and resistance to change that dooms poor countries' people to just stay poor while they keep obeying their institutions and politicians?
This also brings me to the next point. I feel in the US, there is a healthy degree of cynicism when listening to the political class or the establishment, which is a bipartisan observation (irrespective of which party the politician belongs to). But episodes like the above, where a ruling party just bans forex transactions with impunity, punishes those who hoard foreign currency, while printing the local currency, people seem quite obedient, and still do not adopt Bitcoin, makes me think they are much more compliant with the establishment?