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El Salvador abandons Bitcoin as legal tender

(ticotimes.net)
927 points smallerfish | 8 comments | 04 Feb 25 00:00 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source | bottom
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portaouflop ◴[04 Feb 25 02:07 UTC] No.42926658[source]▶
IMF gave them 1.4 billion to abandon the “experiment”:

> The IMF made this a condition for a loan of 1.4 billion US dollars (1.35 billion euros). In December of last year, the IMF reached an agreement with President Nayib Bukele’s government on the loan of the stated amount to strengthen the country’s “fiscal sustainability” and mitigate the “risks associated with Bitcoin,” as it was described.

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I dislike cryptocurrencies as much as the next guy but this was clearly something else than a failure of the currency itself

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stephen_g ◴[04 Feb 25 02:17 UTC] No.42926769[source]▶
Despite that interference, from everything I’ve read though it’s hard to describe the bitcoin experiment as anything else than a massive failure…
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mlcrypto ◴[04 Feb 25 02:28 UTC] No.42926901[source]▶
Massive success actually for anyone holding. Did you forget the price is $100k?
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1. armada651 ◴[04 Feb 25 04:06 UTC] No.42927778[source]▶
I sleep better at night knowing my savings aren't part of a massive Ponzi scheme that's going to one day leave lots of working class people holding the bag as the savings they invested in bitcoin are transferred to the wealthy insiders.
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2. robocat ◴[04 Feb 25 05:31 UTC] No.42928429[source]▶
If you own a house you are part of a Ponzi scheme in most developed nations.

Japan already has houses worth $0 because Japan has run out of population growth to keep the demand for houses growing.

The same issue will occur in other countries that have low population growth. In New Zealand we have been importing people so house prices have been appreciating. However my impression is that other countries are competing for immigrants (NZ seems to be slowly relaxing our filters).

Also if you ever had a mortgage then you had a leveraged investment (often dangerously leveraged).

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3. agapon ◴[04 Feb 25 08:27 UTC] No.42929708[source]▶
> If you own a house you are part of a Ponzi scheme in most developed nations.

Not unless you explicitly choose to. If you own a house to have a roof above you, to have a comfortable and safe place for you and your family, if you love and care about that place, then that's what you are getting out of the house. Its monetary value changes are "just" a side story.

But if you buy a house purely as an investment, then yeah.

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4. kalnins ◴[04 Feb 25 08:32 UTC] No.42929745[source]▶
People don't own the house just to sell it for more later on. Some live in them.
5. robocat ◴[04 Feb 25 09:18 UTC] No.42930118{3}[source]▶
It's part of a Ponzi scheme either way. Even if not an investment, you have to buy it, and it will eventually be sold.
6. genem9 ◴[04 Feb 25 10:44 UTC] No.42930747[source]▶
Wait until you learn about social security.
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7. armada651 ◴[11 Feb 25 19:15 UTC] No.43017011[source]▶
Yes and that is absolutely a problem, houses should go down in value as they are used just like your car does. The fact that we've learned nothing from all the previous real estate bubbles and continue to use houses as investment opportunities is pure insanity.
8. armada651 ◴[11 Feb 25 19:23 UTC] No.43017116[source]▶
Social Security is a Ponzi scheme by design, that's not a bug it's a feature. All participants are aware that they are paying into social security to redistribute that wealth to vulnerable individuals.

People are not paying into bitcoin expecting to redistribute their wealth to the insiders.