pull down to refresh
15 sats \ 2 replies \ @Kontext 14 Sep \ on: The State of Merchant adoption right now. How's it, where you are? bitcoin_beginners
Basically none. But there are also basically no bitcoiners here in Estonia even though the monetary policy is _not even _in the hands of local politicians (as if that made anything better) and the country suffered some of the highest inflation rates in Europe in 2022... I am constantly surprised and appalled by the apathy, disinterest and timidness of the people around me. Which is one of the main reasons I'm seriously considering seeking a new home somewhere in the Americas, but I digress. All that being said, I do accept BTC for my own goods, of course, and am trying to increase overall merchant adoption in a roundabout way with a gift card business, but it's a low-budget solo venture for now and there hasn't been a lot of interest from either investors nor customers so... I guess we're still, unfortunately, very early? At least from the MoE perspective.
BTW completely agree that unless BTC can be used as a Medium of Exchange, we will always be crippled by trusted third parties, KYC/AML bureaucracy, financial censorship, etc. In other words, Bitcoin can be the better money, but not the freedom money, without the MoE component.
I went to BTC Map and in whole of Estonia I can see only one business accepting Bitcoin, so I can understand your disappointment somewhat.
But why so far as North America? My understanding is Bitcoin spreading fairly even in, for example, Switzerland and Czechia (much closer home for you)! May be they can even beat much of north America (which is a humongous region, and not all states/provinces are equally open to it either).
reply
Well TBH I'm not that keen on North America, even though I definitely wouldn't rule it out since the "life & liberty" ethos aligns very much with mine (I've always said my highest values are "love & freedom" - which I think in its essence is the same as the aforementioned). Especially since there are quite a few bitcoiner hotspots there as well.
Nevertheless, in the Americas was more supposed to hint at South & Central America - El Salvador, Argentina, Paraguay, etc. being on my radar first and foremost. Perhaps quite obviously, I'm inclined towards the libertarian / anarcho-capitalist / bitcoiner type of setups. The fact that we pay 40-50%+ in all sorts of different taxes and no one bats an eye is one of the biggest mysteries to me about the fiat mindset and speaks volumes on how willfully blind people are in regards to our own enslavement. In any case, my overall thesis is that the West (USA included) is on the decline, and the Global South may be starting it's ascent. But it's obviously very early, I haven't even visited any of the countries in neither North or South America yet, and like I was having a conversation with someone in Riga at this year's Honeybadger... it's like, it's still a state. There's always the chance of the next politician or the next party coming and fucking things up. I don't know how we can get around that issue.
But if there's one thing I do know it's that Europe's decline is perhaps one of the fastest in the Western world and at least until there is the monstrosity called the EU, I don't have much hope for any of this region.
reply