Key facts:
In Venezuela, work has been devalued and people do not have access to credit.
Bitcoin has solved fundamental things, like changing the way we look at money.
How we see Bitcoin in the world seems to have no middle ground: either it is a rare, distant thing, of dubious credibility and even dangerous, or it is the panacea, the answer to all economic and social problems that have been and will be. I, from Venezuela, say that bitcoin is neither one thing nor the other.
Without a doubt, bitcoin has solved quite a few problems for me over the last few years. Freedom of action regarding my moneyaccess to international markets in a country where making purchases abroad had become impossible and even a defense against hyperinflation.
But there are structural and even circumstantial things in the country and in day-to-day reality in general that bitcoin cannot (and does not have to) solve. And that’s fine. It’s not Bitcoin’s fault.
Lack of credit in Venezuela
For example, bitcoin has not been able to guarantee me access to credit, something that in Venezuela seems extinct at this point, beyond certain recovery levels recent for productive sectors and small businesses. But, credit for vehicles? Living place? Even for consumption through credit cards? That practically does not exist today in Venezuela.
And although bitcoin has made me gains in the market at some points, income is insufficient to alleviate this lack of access to credit that in other countries is daily bread.
Yes, there are loan options with bitcoin (BTC) as collateral, but that doesn’t solve anything if you don’t earn enough to cover your expenses and you manage to accumulate a certain amount of BTC you don’t need to use.
Value of work devalued
There is another thing that bitcoin does not save Venezuelans from. Or at least not entirely: the devaluation of the value of work. Even for freelancers or remote workers who provide their services to companies abroad.
Whatever the case, the perception from outside the country is that, given Venezuela’s economic circumstances, a salary well below what they would pay at home will suffice for Venezuelan labor. That is not entirely false, because in recent years there was a period in which up to 20 dollars was a lot of money in Venezuela. But that changed.
Venezuela has already caught up with other countries in terms of prices and in some cases is more expensive. But the majority of employers still look to Venezuela for their new professional at a discount. Whether from the bitcoiner niche or not, this is a reality that remains, as various acquaintances that I have consulted have confirmed..
The most important thing that bitcoin did solve for me in Venezuela
As I said, bitcoin still does not solve a lot of problems, something that I tried to illustrate with two specific examples. But put in the balance, what bitcoin has solved for me in Venezuela ends up being heavier.
Mainly for a few aspects that seem essential to me: one of them is having used lifesaver in a very hard time for the country economically, with sustained hyperinflation for about 3 years and from which it has barely begun to come out this year. With everything and the volatility, as we have reviewed in CriptoNoticias, bitcoin has been a refuge for those of us who protect value with it in this country.
It also helped me understand that there is no better way to protect one’s own money than with a mechanism that is far from the control of third parties. Goodbye waiting for banks or dependency on platforms that, under any circumstance or pretext, can block you or even take your money.
Finally, a fundamental lesson that Bitcoin has brought to the world (with Venezuela as a great example) is that there is another way of possible money: one that does not depend on government measures, arbitrariness or favoritism such as aid to large companies or the overprinting of money at the expense of people’s purchasing power. There is a money whose code is written, clear and defined and whose emission is immutable and finite. And that is the most powerful thing about Bitcoin.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article belong to its author and do not necessarily reflect those of CriptoNoticias.