[rubyn00bie]

I think there is a place for crypto, and I say that begrudgingly, ‘cuz ego, since I’ve been calling it all Tulips since a Bitcoin was $8.

The biggest reason why Bitcoin works, and other established coins work, is because of demand from the developing world. If you don’t have reliable banks or governments then Cryptos are at least as good or better than your local banks because even if it collapses you can still access it. For a lot of countries with unstable governments and banking system this is the differentiator. Bitcoin will never be a “currency” but a long-term “store of value” seems quite likely.

It’s pretty clear to me now, long term, Musk knows/thinks that the energy used by the coins’ networks will be free from renewable sources.

I don’t think cryptocurrency is an abject disaster. I think it’s something with a lot of potential to do good and a lot of potential to do bad. I can agree we’re just gonna have to wait to see...

[knorker]

From my reading it looks like the "developing world" use case is pure propaganda.

E.g. someone investigated the "bitcoin in venezuela!" claim. Actually going there and tracking down use. Turns out it was a bitcoin investor who went to venezuela to do a transaction for the sole purpose of screaming "bitcoin in venezuela" to pump up the price.

[kemonocode]

You might want to check LocalBitcoin's usage in Venezuela [1] to get a clearer picture. It's not pure propaganda.

[1] https://coin.dance/volume/localbitcoins/VES

[davidgerard]

yes, it's gone up from negligible to negligible.

The use case in Venezuela is wealthy Venezuelans getting their wealth out of the country.

When bitcoiners say "refugees" as a use case, they mean rich people looting and running.

[kemonocode]

I'd hardly consider myself "wealthy" (certainly NOT by Western standards) but sure, whatever fits best your own views. ;)

I'd say if you have enough money to be a capital flight risk, there are far less cumbersome means to get your money out of the country than crypto.

[knorker]

It may be true. But the last stories saying the same thing were pure lies. My bayesean values are calibrated accordingly and I won't just take it at face value.

[vivab0rg]

Hello. I'm from Argentina. I retired before turning 50 thanks to crytpo. Now I'm really thinking to leave this place after my daughter turns 18. It's not proganda.

[knorker]

That's not currency, that's speculation. You might as well argue for the logic of lottery tickets.

I have made money from cryptocurrency too, that's not at all relevant. (I exited when I became too disgusted by it)

[gher-shyu3i]

https://www.reddit.com/r/ethereum/comments/mykhyx/this_got_c...

[rubyn00bie]

> From my reading it looks like the "developing world" use case is pure propaganda.

From my perspective, it is not propaganda but it is my opinion. I didn’t come to the conclusion through any scientific rigor, but rather through observation. I have seen a spike in crypto discussion over the past year or two by, my obviously small sample, of thought leaders and entrepreneurs in primarily in Africa. The talk isn’t ever of get rich quick schemes, but instead focuses on generating long-term family wealth. It’s pretty inspiring to be honest. Investing in general moves your focus (or should) away from the now and to the future. For a lot of folks, myself included, a “future” never seemed possible. Maybe it’s silly but I started taking better care of myself once I started investing recently. I’m lucky, I live in the USA, I make decent money and have easy access via apps like Robinhood. What if I only had access to brokers who aren’t regulated or require deposits well exceeding anything I’ve ever saved? Truly, it pains me to say, but crypto markets are maturing and while they may not be stable compared to traditional 1st word financial markets they’re a lot better than many other alternatives.

Lastly please don’t see this as a recommendation to buy crypto. I wouldn’t unless you just wanna show off your diamond hands. Fwiw, I have to date ever owned exactly zero Bitcoin and only have a few lite coins mined years back (all of which have still not paid back the costs, but are close... Amazon or Tesla would’ve returned better in my case). I might not find it useful myself but it’s pretty hard to deny a lot of other people do find it useful.

[knorker]

Oh yeah, I saw some documentary about bitcoin in Africa. It was so sad. This woman standing in basically a muddy hut, stirring some soup, and saying how she put everything into bitcoin because they say it always goes up. She had no idea what it is.

Someone basically tricked her into buying lottery tickets. (who knows, maybe it'll work out just fine)

That's not even close to "using bitcoin". To a rounding error nobody is actually using bitcoin (even less the other cryptocurrencies, since it's even more rare to be able to), except to commit crimes.

[doggosphere]

Yeah, she should kept her savings in Zimbabwe Dollars. Those are only inflating at 500%+ per year.