A small story about me, my friends, Bitcoin & Maracaibo, Venezuela. \ stacker news ~bitcoin

A small story about me, my friends, Bitcoin & Maracaibo, Venezuela.

2503 sats \ 20 comments \ @iguano 24 Aug 2023 bitcoin

Maracaibo is the second larges city of Venezuela, is the city where I was born and raised.

Is located west of the country, almost at the border of our sister country, Colombia.

I haven't lived there for many years, but it will always be a part of me, almost all my friends left, almost all my family left.

I have nothing to do there anymore. My life is elsewhere now.

But a few days ago I've been talking to a couple of friends who are still there, living their lives the best they can.

One is an Uber driver, I love this guy like a brother, he is computer engineer, but the economy is so weird there making a living as a engineer is harder than being Uber driver , the salaries are so bad that anything you do to by your own is better than working for anyone else. Of course he is not using Uber exactly as the company do not operate in the country, he use other applications named yummy, ridery & quik.

The other guy is a good friend of mine, he is the owner of a business, he repair video games consoles and electronic devices like TVs and that kind of stuff.

I asked them about Bitcoin and how accepted it is in the stores. And to my surprise is very normal now to take crypto & Bitcoin in the city, Sadly the main crypto adoption driver is Binance and USDT.

People are using Binance pay and USDT as a normal payment method. One of them told me that Binance is being taken by (he believes) 90% of the stores. Of course there is normal to take several types of payment method, the national currency is just a joke, and having anything else to pay is a better Idea for the shops.

I ask them if now that the people is taking Binance, if they know the difference between Binance pay and Bitcoin itself and accepting Bitcoin as on chain/lightning payment. (Now that Binance is taking lightning).

One of them told me that the people doesn't care with what you pay, as long as Binance accept it and exchange it to USDT they will take the payment in Binance, He told me that the stores are taking payments in Bitcoin and Ether on-chain because of this, they will exchange it to USDT after they get the bitcoin confirmed on the application.

Not sure how this makes me feel. On the one hand I am glad that people are somehow starting to get exposure to bitcoin.

And I am surprised that it is being accepted much more than in countries like El Salvador or Costa Rica and without having any media coverage or blogs.

People are using it because it works for them, not by force of anyone.

On the other hand, people still prefer centralized services regardless of the risk they take by having their money there, and it leaves a bad taste in my mouth because they are so close to using Bitcoin without custody but still prefer the convenience of Binance and the "stability" of USDT. Both of my friends have savings in Bitcoin, they use bitcoin as Saving account, but like one of them told me "I have to bite that money more often that I'd like".

I guess I'm still glad that innovation is helping the people I love to have a better life. If you still reading this I really appreciate it, every sat you tip to this article will be transferred to those guys in Maracaibo, Venezuela.

They don't know I'm writing this article, But I think it is a story that worth being told.

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130 sats \ 1 reply \ @Storyteller 24 Aug 2023

Yesterday I talked to a Venezuelan construction worker working for me. I asked him about the Bolivar, how people deal with it, day to day. And about bitcoin.

He knew about bitcoin but he isn’t using it.

Regarding the Bolivar he said. If you paid me in the Bolivar today, I go straight to the supermarket. To buy stuff. Because if I wait for a week, I can buy less.

I said what do you do if you need to save for say a car?

He said: I buy dollars. I save in dollars.

He said look at these bags here of concrete. What is the price? I said about 3 dollars. He said: How long has it been 3 dollars? I said 2/3 years. For ever.

He said : in Venezuela it is not like that. Prices are not stable. It keeps increasing every day. Today it is in Bolivar 3 dollars, tomorrow it is 3.5, next week 5.

You cannot save. You constantly keep thinking about money.

When your money is broken people’s lives are broken.

If you live in a county where the exchange rate is kind of stable you should feel lucky.

But the sad thing is it is not stable. Venezuela is just an extreme case. The dollar they feel is stable for them is relatively stable. It is stable compared to the Bolivar.

But the dollar is loosing value against food, against gas, against a house. That is called inflation.

The dollar lost thousands of percent in value against the bitcoin in years. How is it possible that something that was invented some 14 years ago is now worth 25-26 thousand dollars. While once it was worth 1 dollar? 26 000 x more value in 14 years. 1857x per year on average.

Most people do not know this is happening to the dollar.

While the Venezuela people are running towards the dollar or USDT as their best life saving raft, whatever they can get on the wild sea of Venezuelan storm, most don’t care that raft is also sinking.

It is sinking less fast than the Venezuelan Bolivar.

With inflation of 7% the USA dollar will sink 50% in 10 years. Rule of 72. You take the 72/7 you get about 10 years.

That is stability. You don’t feel the sinking that quick.

But people also feel there is something going on with the US dollar.

Once you realize that the fiat boat is sinking - USA dollar, Euros, you move to the raft called bitcoin.

I respect the Venezuelan people. They do whatever they can. Binance, whatever. Whatever works.

Then I asked the man: but there are many rich people also. He said yes: there are some people who became super rich in a short period. He didn’t know how?

I still have to understand that. How some people becamea so wealthy.

Probably something to do with money. Because the peopke close to the money printer always become rich at the expense of the other people . If some become extremely poor there will be others at the other side who become extremely rich.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @iguano OP 24 Aug 2023

You cannot save. You constantly keep thinking about money.

Well I was able to get out of the country because I was able to save in dollars, at the end, savings = dollars, thats the mentality, I found bitcoin later.

But the sad thing is it is not stable. Venezuela is just an extreme case. The dollar they feel is stable for them is relatively stable. It is stable compared to the Bolivar.

Its stable enough to make a living i think, when you get use to highly inflationary environment. your time preferences get affected, you stop thinking on your retirement because you cannot effort the day before. You start putting more interest in things that give you fast rewards like drinking or partying.

I still have to understand that. How some people became so wealthy.

People with connections with the government, In Venezuela you cannot be rich if you are not with the government. No matter if you are honest, they will come after you if you are rich enough to get noticed.

Also, there is a lot of people who are involved with drugs, people who have a honest business just to wash the money but their real income come from drugs.

55 sats \ 2 replies \ @eduardopro 24 Aug 2023

Oh man, mi Venezuela querida.

It's so weird to watch those ads with those logos on them.

I left like five years ago and Venezuela already feels like a whole different country.

About the story, the first thing that comes to mind is education. Of course, I wish I could go back and teach everyone the ways of the force.

The second thing that comes to mind, though, is that everyone will learn about bitcoin eventually because the best money wins. It can't be any other way. There are no alternatives and there's no second best.

We're just early.

0 sats \ 1 reply \ @iguano OP 24 Aug 2023

It's so weird to watch those ads with those logos on them.

si verdad, me paso lo mismo,

About the story, the first thing that comes to mind is education. Of course, I wish I could go back and teach everyone the ways of the force.

Si yo igual, me gustaria volver y poder educar a la gente, pero no se si sea una buena idea.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @eduardopro 26 Aug 2023

Probablemente no sea una buena idea, compa.

Not yet.

112 sats \ 5 replies \ @siggy47 24 Aug 2023

Thanks for this great article. I think that the US dollar will weaken over time and bitcoin will buy more and more of the things people need to live day to day. It's just a question of when.

101 sats \ 2 replies \ @iguano OP 24 Aug 2023

Thanks man, well the people is getting exposure now, which amazed me. We are in the right place in the right time.

1 sat \ 1 reply \ @siggy47 24 Aug 2023

Do you ever travel back to Venezuela?

21 sats \ 0 replies \ @iguano OP 24 Aug 2023

No, but lately I'm thinking more about it. That's why I got in touch with these guys.

0 sats \ 1 reply \ @SpaceHodler 24 Aug 2023

To benefit from bitcoin you have to hold it for a long time. Their stomachs of people living paycheck to paycheck need filling now, not in 10 years.

20 sats \ 0 replies \ @iguano OP 24 Aug 2023

I guess some people buy bitcoin planning to hodl it, but life sometimes is impredictable.

34 sats \ 0 replies \ @2bithits 24 Aug 2023

Interesting to hear from your friends in Venezuela

I just hope they don't get rugged by binance or USDT.

31 sats \ 0 replies \ @juanito 24 Aug 2023

The western (or any) MSM is a joke, so props for your citizen journaling here.

People who don't have too much spare income to save shouldn't save too much on bitcoin. I went through a bad situation at work where I unexpectedly wasn't paid for four months (I got paid afterward), and really regret having saved everything in bitcoin. I did sell a bit, and it was a terrible timing.

Bitcoin compared to the value of everyday essentials such as education, food and shelter is and will continue to be volatile for some time (many fiat currencies are too), and we can talk about principles all day but that doesn't change reality.

I have two very young children, a wife and an extended family that I partially support, so if you're a single person living with your parents or in a single apartment room (as I was before marrying) YMMV.

31 sats \ 0 replies \ @Salekromcy 24 Aug 2023

As far as I know, the situation is similar in Lebanon. People take whatever currency they can get, but they by far prefer USDT, because it's easier to familiarize yourself with something that comes close to the USD...

31 sats \ 1 reply \ @mallardshead 24 Aug 2023

Interesting how Uber the brand is also the de facto name for the service at large, especially since it isn't active there.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @iguano OP 24 Aug 2023

It is a easy way to explain whats he is doing.

21 sats \ 0 replies \ @random_bitcoiner 24 Aug 2023

Not sure how this makes me feel.

I know how it is and it makes me feel sad. Because it just puts in evidence how people behave like sheep and can't seem to learn from their experience.

I know what you say is true because I've seen it here where I live as well. "We accept Binance" or "Binance Platform" in big letters as if that somehow is a synonym of good reputation. And to think that Binance might still collapse and rug all those people is extra sad.

21 sats \ 1 reply \ @edulopesf 24 Aug 2023

Makes sense... Nice report by the way.

It's far easy to people accept USDT 'cuz the concept of Dollar is easier to understand.

But, as you said, it does expose people to Bitcoin.

I have a theory, as the economy of a country gets more damaged, sooner they will accept Bitcoin. It's kinda sad, but such scenario is the faster kickstart for widespread cryptocurrency widespread adoption.

Hope the best for you, your family and friends.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @iguano OP 24 Aug 2023

I have a theory, as the economy of a country gets more damaged, sooner they will accept Bitcoin. It's kinda sad, but such scenario is the faster kickstart for widespread cryptocurrency widespread adoption.

It is exactly that. sadly. but I guess you need to get some pain to make changes in your habits.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @SpaceHodler 24 Aug 2023

When you live paycheck to paycheck, the stability of USDT is appealing. Bitcoin is a savings technology. It's for net producers, because only those can save.