Is Cryptocurrency the Currency of the Rebellious?

Following several public demonstrations taking place around the world, Bitcoin took to Twitter and encouraged protestors in Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt, Chile and Ecuador to “protest with their money”, asking them the following question: “why fund your oppressors through inflation?”. Insinuating that cryptocurrencies are a safe haven when fiat currencies are at risk for being devalued or worse, totally scrapped.

It’s a basic economic fact that when a country is in turmoil, its national fiat-currency tends to suffer and eventually, the citizen’s buying power takes a blow. Is there a way to financially protect the residents of a revolting country? And could Bitcoin, or any other cryptocurrency for that matter, be the economic saving grace of those people?

According to a study published by Statista, the top five countries with the highest rate of digital currency adoption were Turkey, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina and South Africa. What those countries shared in common was their national currency’s instability. In Turkey and after the Lira was hit with high inflation in the last couple of years, cryptocurrencies started gaining more momentum. One over five Turkish citizens owned or continues to own digital currencies. This happened after the Turkish Lira’s value dropped by 38% against the American Dollar while the Argentinian Peso experienced a cut in half. Venezuela, another country hit by hyperinflation, witnessed a rise in Bitcoin cash (BCH) adoption, with a few businesses accepting payments in BCH. This distrust in a national currency’s stability could explain why those countries’ citizens found comfort in purchasing digital assets. T

A strong example of the use of crypto assets in the face of an oppressive regime is Hong Kong. Protestors there have been withdrawing cash from ATMs with a strong demand for Bitcoin (BTC).  Another is Lebanon and the revolution that is taking place there. Many protestors have even held signs and wrote Facebook posts encouraging people to safeguard their money by moving it into crypto assets. A site that has recently witnessed a rise in popularity is https://bitcoinduliban.org . It gives advice on how to buy cryptocurrencies using credit cards and other over the counter techniques, as well as the use of the recently regulated and established RAIN exchange in Bahrain.

While it may seem logical to store money in crypto to retain value, it is not always easy or simple to do given the regulatory policies in some countries. Furthermore, there are other challenges including making the right choice of which cryptocurrency to purchase given the number of Ponzi schemes in the crypto world.

In conclusion, while some may see cryptocurrency as a means to retrieve their financial freedom and safeguard the value of their money, it is still a risky endeavor since crypto continues to fluctuate sometimes even more drastically than troubled fiat currencies.

UNLOCK, as a media entity, neither encourages nor discourages the use of crypto but asks people to make their decisions carefully because when you leave the world of fiat and central bank systems, only you beccome accountable for what happens to your money, and the only revolution you can then have is against yourself.