The full interview from Juan Pinto, a Venezuelan miner, recently featured in WIRED Magazine, about using cryptocurrency to survive in Venezuela’s crippling economy.
Life is not easy in Venezuela. Hyperinflation has resulted in Venezuela’s currency losing 98% of its value against the US dollar. The value of people’s life savings is disintegrating, the minimum wage is worth roughly $5, and many people are even rummaging through the trash for food.
Juan and so many other Venezuelans are turning to mining, trading, and investing in cryptocurrencies as a way to avoid restrictions on holding foreign currencies and a way to survive. Juan even started a business to help people in Venezuela support entire families on the income from just one mining computer.
Bitcoin may be volatile, but in Venezuela it’s much more stable than their alternative, and Juan sees the spread of cryptocurrency as the one positive outcome of the crisis.
Our guest this week does an excellent job of explaining what life is really like on the ground in Venezuela, and how and why the crypto-craze has taken hold in this struggling country. He also shares his thoughts on the Venezuelan government’s recent announcement of their own cryptocurrency, the “petro”.
Check out host Cady Voge’s full piece on crypto as a life line in Venezuela in WIRED magazine: https://www.wired.com/story/where-could-bitcoin-succeed-as-a-currency-in-a-failed-state/
Guest: Juan Pinto
Hosted/Produced by: Cady Voge
Learn more about the show and other shows from Bitcoin.com, at https://www.bitcoin.com/podcast
