source
I see many posts this morning about the positive benefits of crypto during the current situation in Ukraine and all the points raised are valid and well thought out.
However, with such a passionate and partisan crowd, it is easy to lose objectivity and forget the elephant in the room...
Crypto is also able to bypass economic sanctions imposed by those nations opposing the war and as such, does that make us all complicit in lessening the effects that the sanctions imposed by united Western governments could have upon the Russian economy and its hoped effect in helping bring an end to the Russian invasion of Ukraine?
Will the very Russian government, the enemy we are aiming to bring to heel now also turn to crypto in an attempt to mitigate the effects of the sanctions?
If we separate state from citizen, crypto has the potential to help Russian citizens to bypass the restrictions they now face, which are massive.
Speaking to a friend there yesterday who lives in Moscow. Her Apple pay had stopped working, as had her Visa and Mastercard. She wasn't able to withdraw USD from the ATM as she and many Russians often use USD as their daily currency and her Roubles were worth 40% less than they were last week. Luckily she doesn't have a mortgage as the base interest rate has just risen to 20%.
Sanctions, whilst a necessary evil and infinitely better tool than to wade in with physical violence hurt citizens and yes, crypto can be a solution but there is another issue.
Crypto ties itself to the US dollar.
So to operate, crypto needs fiat as a comparator. In a perfect world where crypto was a true, useable alternative, it would only need its own indices and hopefully, this is what will happen in the future, perhaps where all daily crypto prices are based on their BTC value. This is something we all need to strive for but is ever going to happen while the vast majority of crypto users, including those on Hive, see crypto as nothing more than an alternative financial implement for trading to make dollars rather than taking an interest in the bigger picture.
Back to the current situation though...
Crypto can also help Russian citizens as they fight the personal effects of Western sanctions on their everyday lives but on the flipside of this double-edged coin, it can also help their government.
With all the back-slapping and glee at the rise in prices this morning, spare a thought.
Is this rise in crypto prices due to the Russian government buying up huge swathes of Bitcoin and if so, are we inadvertently supporting them? And if that's the case, does this make us question whether crypto helps or hinders in the current situation?
This will be huge victory for crypto!
Posted Using LeoFinance Beta
It would mate, my Russian artist friend is trying to convert her crypto to cash right now as her income has gone and her cards don't work, but as I said to jfang003, if the Russian state suddenly buys up BTC to support itself creating demand and market prices go through the roof you have a government funded by crypto! Scary as fuck!
Anyway, life's looking good in Sri Lanka mate, hope you're keeping well and happy there :-)
I like to think the benefits of crypto outweight the cons. Ukraine over Russia
But if the Russian state suddenly buys up BTC to support itself creating demand and market prices rise through the roof you have a government funded by crypto!
Wow! I didn't imagine how big of gray area it was. Thanks for sharing this.
Not sure if it is or isn't a grey area, it's just me thinking out loud and struggling to put thoughts into words as usual lol
Hey mate, nice to see you back. Hope you're well and life is treating you kindly :-)
But your take on it is really well-thought-out.
Nice to see you as well, mate. Really had quite tough months lately. I'm glad to back in this community. Always nice to hear from you!
It's a fair point - Bitcoin is neutral, it's just Bitcoin doing it's thing, people/ institutions will do with it as they will!
Certainly it can be used by anyone, for any means, the (Exaggerated) links between BTC and crime show that, but also good.
Double-edged sword as you say, and we do have stay balanced, your right! Crypto isn't anyone's saviour or enabler on its own!
Its a tough call I'd not really given much thought to until the economic sanctions were imposed and chatted to an old friend in Moscow yesterday.
I like the ability to place economic sanctions on Russia as a state but not the effect on its individual citizens of course.
All i hope is one way or another, Putin personally is brought down and Russian citizens can openly choose a leader. This turning into one huge, nightmarish shitfest.
Hope Portugal is still treating you well and thanks for dropping by :-)
I don't think there is a good or bad for crypto. It's doing as it intended because the current financial system isn't really working out. It does seem people have a bias towards whether or not people should be cut off but that makes things too similar to a CBDC.
Do I like Russia getting funding through crypto? Not really because they started the conflict but I don't really want the governments controlling who is allowed on exchanges or not.
Posted Using LeoFinance Beta
This is a huge dichotomy that us crypto advocates have to face and I don't know the answer!
I believe the impact of Crypto is really helping which has also created opportunities for so many individuals around the world and the presence will still create more positive moves in the future