Bitcoin World #6 - What Happened in Venezuela with Stephan Livera & Peter McCormack

Location: Skype
Date: Thursday 27th Feb
Project: What Bitcoin Did & Defiance
Role: Host

Venezuela is in the midst of a political crisis. For 20 years the country has been governed by the socialist party, led by Hugo Chavez from 1999 until his death in 2013. Following his death, Nicolas Maduro, his preferred successor, took control of the country following a much-disputed election.

Under Manduro, the economy and local currency have collapsed, with extreme hyperinflation reaching unprecedented levels. The inflation rate reached 69% in 2014, and by 2018 grew to an astonishing 1,698,488%, leading to significant growth in poverty, hunger and mass migration, with millions leaving the country to find work, food and medical supplies.

With the collapse of the Bolivar, many Bitcoiners, including myself, asked whether Bitcoin could help. Could Bitcoin reduce the impact of hyperinflation? Could locals mine Bitcoin at low energy costs to earn an income? I visited Venezuela to find the answers to some of these questions and asked fellow podcaster Stephan Livera to interview me about my experience. We discuss the realities of life in Venezuela and the myths and truths of Bitcoin adoption.

-----

Connect with Stephan:
- On Twitter
- On stephanlivera.com
- On ministryofnodes.com.au

Connect with Peter:
- On Twitter
- On Medium
- On LinkedIn

Mentioned in the interview:
- Egyptian Murdered During Robbery Attempt in Venezuela
- Cucuta: Colombia's Contraband City
- The Booming Smuggling Trade Between Venezuela and Colombia
- Vital Food and Fuel Exit Venezuela as Smuggling Worsens Crisis
- Venezuelan presidential crisis
- The fallen metropolis: the collapse of Caracas, the jewel of Latin America
- Opposition leader Guaido returns to Venezuela after tour
- Guaido returns to Venezuela, calls for more street protests
- UN report: Venezuela death squads kill young men, stage scenes
- Venezuela crisis: Colombia border points closed amid aid stand-off
- Armed Groups and Contraband Smugglers Spark Colombia-Venezuela Border Crisis
- Venezuela investigates Guaido over photo with suspected Colombian criminals
- Venezuela crisis: How the political situation escalated
- Venezuelan Migrants Are Using Bitcoin for Remittances
- Venezuela Smashes Weekly Bitcoin Trading Record

Other relevant WBD podcasts:
- WBD198: Bitcoin Around the World - Chile: Political Protests, Bitcoin & Climate Change with Guillermo Torrealba
- WBD194: Bitcoin Around the World - Venezuela: Bitcoin Won’t Fix Venezuela with Javier Bastardo
- WBD193: Bitcoin Around the World - Colombia: Bitcoin, Regulation and Ties to Venezuela with Mauricio Tovar Gutierrez & Alejandro Beltran Torrado
- WBD179: Bitcoin Youth Programme in El Salvador with Michael Peterson
- WBD108: A Bitcoin Reality Check in Venezuela with Jill Carlson, Alejandro Machado & Jamaal Montasser
- WBD071: Update on the Venezuelan Political Crisis
- WBD019: How Venezuelans are Using Bitcoin to Counter the Effects of Hyperinflation with Alejandro Machado

-----

If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show my doing the following:

Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contribute

Leave a review on iTunes

Share the show and episodes with your friends and family

Subscribe to the newsletter on my website

Follow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTube

If you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

Om Podcasten