How Bitcoin is Thriving in Argentina's Black Market Economy
James Downer is a student of International Relations and Computer science, and is interested in the collision between the two. Here, he discusses bitcoin's growing role in Argentina and the nation's thriving black market for dollars. The US dollar black market doesn't just thrive in Buenos Aires, it's published in the paper every morning. Swinging by one of the city's newsstands, you'll find the official peso to dollar rates published next to the 'dólar blue' rates at the top of the morning edition of La Nación, and if you walk downtown to Calle Florida, the arbolitos (street traders of....
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Can bitcoin conquer Argentina? It's a question that is being given increasing validity by major media outlets like The New York Times and The Economist, and it's easy to see why. Numerical and anecdotal evidence suggest that if bitcoin will prove popular as a currency anywhere, it should in Argentina. According to the Bitcoin Market Potential Index (BMPI), which ranks bitcoin's potential utility across 177 countries, Argentina is the most likely country to adopt the digital currency. It's economy is one of the most problematic globally, boasting annual inflation of approximately 35%. In....
James Downer is a student of International Relations and Computer Science and is fascinated by the collision between the two subjects. In this article, Downer discusses last Wednesday's debt default by Argentina, bitcoin's growing role in the country and its thriving black market for dollars. If Argentina's 'Default Wednesday' had been as bad as its 2001 debt default, the country's citizens would be scrambling en masse for alternatives to the peso - such as bitcoin. When Cyprus, with a population of just over a million, suffered a financial crisis in 2013, freezing bank accounts and....
Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, the second-biggest cryptocurrency by market cap, has reacted to some of his earlier beliefs in a new year’s tweetstorm. The developer touched on some subjects including the rise of cryptocurrency in Argentina and how stablecoins are thriving in the country, how ethereum scaling is still a pressing concern for him, and the performance of bitcoin cash.
Vitalik Buterin Reflects on Earlier Takes
Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, touched on some of his earlier opinions about some subjects and how these fare against the....
The difference in the official and unofficial rate for Argentinian pesos is now so pronounced that at least one bitcoin exchange has acknowledged it. Localbitcoins.com has decided to publish a 'blue dollar' exchange rate for the currency. The escrow-based decentralised bitcoin exchange service has produced a symbol for the blue dollar rate called XAR, and is using it to calculate bitcoin exchange rates. The black market rate in Argentina is a result of rocketing inflation, and tension over a possible default. This has led Argentinians to hoard dollars, while the authorities have imposed....
Bitcoin Cash Argentina, a nonprofit foundation destined to increase the knowledge and adoption of the cryptocurrency in the country, has achieved its second milestone by crowdfunding a new circular economy campaign using Flipstarter. This new campaign goes even further with the goal of onboarding 250 merchants in the near future. Bitcoin Cash Argentina Funds Second Flipstarter Campaign Bitcoin Cash Argentina, a nonprofit organization that seeks to increase the knowledge and adoption of bitcoin cash (BCH) in Argentina, has successfully funded its second Flipstarter campaign, receiving 250....