[forgetsusername]

That's a wonderful use case for BTC.

But the overwhelming majority of bitcoin investment, marketing and ownership isn't coming from Tunisia. It's coming from the West (and China), where most people have no problems spending or obtaining currency (maybe China does).

Why are Westerners so eager to make money off of people's inability to move money around poor countries, and why is it supported?

[mbrock]

One major reason why Bitcoin is used in the West is that it enables integrity and privacy when making online purchases, as opposed to bank-issued cards.

I've used BTC in an emergency situation, to transfer money when I would otherwise have needed to wait for several days for an international bank transfer (and then would also have hit my bank's foreign ATM withdrawal limit).

Your third paragraph is a veiled insult based on a notion that if applied consistently would deem the international banking system at least as immoral as Bitcoin.

[ChemicalWarfare]

Not hating on Bitcoin, but just to set the record straight - unless you're going through some extra hoops like mixers etc - the level of privacy you get with Bitcoin is less than what you get with a CC payment.

[mbrock]

If you buy BTC with cash and have it sent to a fresh wallet, that's quite some privacy—but yes, it's important to be aware of this stuff.

[Cyph0n]

It's actually virtually unknown in Tunisia as far as I can tell. I'm hoping that with an easy-to-use service and some marketing and advertising, it can become a bigger thing.

As for why it's big in more developed countries, I guess it's because people are using it either as an investment device, or for purchasing goods anonymously.