Cointelegraph’s latest documentary takes viewers to Cuba, the land of classic cars, communism, hyperinflation and Bitcoin.
Bitcoin in Cuba: Why some Cubans are adopting BTC to escape ‘The Matrix’
Private businesses in Cuba could be poised to benefit from the cryptocurrency revolution in one of the world’s harshest business environments.
Cuba Bitcoin community hosts BTC-only meetup
The Cuba Bitcoin community hosted the country’s first-ever Bitcoin-only meetup in Havana over the weekend, attended by 60 crypto-curious Cubans.
OpenSea blocks Cuban artists from the platform due to U.S sanctions
OpenSea’s terms of service explicitly prohibit individuals and organizations from sanctioned regions from using its platform.
Cuban NFT artists say they face censorship within the crypto market
“Blockchain is decentralised and doesn’t obey any governments, so no embargo affects us there”, NFT artist Gabriel Bianchini explained.
Cuban central bank makes it official: VASP licensing coming in May
The Gazette further determines that this decision will enter into force 20 days after its publication, which is May 16.
Is Hyperinflation Inevitable? Jack Dorsey Says It’ll “Change Everything”
When Square’s boss Jack Dorsey talks about hyperinflation, the world listens. And Twitter reacts. Since so-called developed economies are now feeling the pain that inflation brings, the concept is in everyone’s mind. Every human has a front-row seat to witness the consequences of the United State’s relentless money printing. And, since the Dollar is still the reserve currency of the world, they’re all feeling it too.
Related Reading | Bullish For Bitcoin: US Inflation Expectation Breaks Out From Decade Long Downtrend
This is Jack Dorsey’s tweet:
Hyperinflation is going to change everything. It’s happening.
— jack⚡️ (@jack) October 23, 2021
As you can see, he doesn’t merely talk about inflation. He goes for “hyperinflation,” which caused adverse reactions in the replies and the quoted tweets. They accused him of fear-mongering and quoted official numbers at him. And the nay-sayers probably have a point here, because the US is far removed from the reality that word implies. However, one thing’s for sure: money printer goes brrrrrrrr… and it hasn’t stopped working since Covid hit.
Negative And Moderate Reactions To Jack Dorsey‘s Tweet
This is an example of an unnecessarily insulting response from a traditional finance person.
2/ step back and it’s disturbing that a lot of most powerful financial figures/oligarchs are invested, literally and figuratively, in various huckster schemes and libertarianish fantasies of state and civilizations collapse.
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) October 23, 2021
This man has obviously not done his homework regarding Bitcoin, so his argument is invalid. And doesn’t require a response. Plus, he’s being insulting to get attention, which he got. So, good for him and his dopamine levels. Let’s hope he has fun staying poor.
This is a Venezuelan economist with a moderate answer to Jack Dorsey.
I don't think it will. But it doesn't need to happen for things to get ugly. https://t.co/Cj85mJ8o7x
— Eduardo Gavotti (@EduardoGavotti) October 23, 2021
Since Venezuelans have first-hand experience with hyperinflation, let’s take what he says into account. The US is just feeling what inflation does. So-called developing economies live with that concept on their backs every second of every day.
BTC price chart for 10/23/2021 on Bitstamp | Source: BTC/USD on TradingView.com
Informative Reactions To Jack Dorsey’s Tweet
The Human Rights Foundation’s Alex Gladstein, a notorious Bitcoin maximalist, had this to say to Jack Dorsey.
Those shocked by this tweet live in a bubble of financial privilege.
*1.3 billion* live under double, triple, or quadruple-digit inflation: Turkey, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Iran, Lebanon, Venezuela, Cuba, Sudan, and beyond.
It’s already one of the world’s biggest humanitarian crises. https://t.co/P83opDagdu
— Alex Gladstein 🌋 ⚡ (@gladstein) October 23, 2021
He’s not lying. Hyperinflation is “already one of the world’s biggest humanitarian crises.” However, the US is far away from “Turkey, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Iran, Lebanon, Venezuela, Cuba”, and Sudan’s situation. And, since the Dollar is still the reserve currency of the world, they have a comfortable cushion to resist the constant money printing’s effects.
Serial entrepreneur and former Coinbase CTO, Balaji Srinivasan, answered Jack Dorsey with a fully-fledged idea. A “censorship-resistant inflation index.”
I wrote a spec for a censorship-resistant inflation index. It’s framed for a startup, but Square could easily do this. In a crisis, accurate inflation info would be something people checked Twitter for every day. @milessuter @moneyball @jack https://t.co/SYb2mfxjex
— Balaji Srinivasan (@balajis) October 23, 2021
In the project, he brings forth some hard truths:
“If inflation is a government-caused problem, we can’t necessarily rely on government statistics like the CPI to diagnose it or remediate it. Indeed, in places with high inflation, censorship and denial is the rule rather than the exception.”
If you are technically capable, there’s still time to send your proposal and earn “A $100k Prize for a Decentralized Inflation Dashboard.” Be aware that “if you use Chainlink’s oracle tech in your project, the best dashboard will be eligible to receive a $100k grant in LINK tokens.” Those tokens are in addition to the main prize.
Poor Understanding Of The Terminology
In a Twitter Spaces room specifically dedicated to Jack Dorsey’s tweet, notorious podcaster Preston Pysh concluded.
“I think people’s understanding of the terminology, deflation, inflation, is just grossly misunderstood. And so, when you say we’re going to have these deflationary events that are then going to lead to more QE, which is then going to result in more inflationary events. I completely agree with you, but we’re talking that there’s so much information loss in such a simple word as deflation and inflation. So the deflationary event is that this whole system is constructed as credit.”
When he says QE, Preston refers to Quantitative Easing, which Investopedia defines as:
“A form of unconventional monetary policy in which a central bank purchases longer-term securities from the open market in order to increase the money supply and encourage lending and investment. Buying these securities adds new money to the economy, and also serves to lower interest rates by bidding up fixed-income securities.”
Related Reading | Jack Dorsey Plans to Build A Decentralized Exchange For Bitcoin
That being said, Preston asks:
“How many people in the US, or in the world, have that context when that’s not their expertise, right? They didn’t get a major in macroeconomics, or finance, or whatever. So, it’s just all buzzwords that people throw around. And, in the meantime, no one really even understands what those definitions even represent.”
For more information about inflation, check out the Bitcoinist Book Club analysis of Saifedean Ammous’ “The Bitcoin Standard.”
Featured Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay – Charts by TradingView
Law Decoded: US as an anatomical theater of crypto regulation, Sept. 13–20
Gary Gensler gets grilled on Capitol Hill as crypto looms large on national political agendas from Cuba to South Korea.
Cuba’s cryptocurrency regulations take effect
Crypto is now a legal method of payment for commercial transactions in the Island nation.
Cuba set to recognize and regulate cryptocurrency
The country had to temporarily stop accepting cash bank deposits in American dollars due to tighter restrictions set by former U.S. President Donald Trump.
Western Union Suspends US Dollar Transfers to Cuba
The move follows the latest sanction from the Trump administration.
Bitcoin in Cuba: A Local YouTube Influencer Explains How It Works
Bitcoin in Cuba is “growing and gaining strength,” according to YouTube influencer Erich García Cruz. Here’s how Cubans are using crypto.
Cuba Libra? Island Nation Slowly Explores Cryptocurrency Options
Cuba highlights the difference between bitcoin and corporate token projects like Libra.
John McAfee Offers to Build Cuba’s First Cryptocurrency
The tech guru has wants to be Cuba’s crypto advisor.
Sanctions-Hit Cuba Eyes Cryptocurrency as Solution to Financial Woes
Cuba has announced it is considering the use of cryptocurrency in order to bolster its finances amid U.S.-led sanctions.