There is a major conversation happening globally right now about money and how the inflows and outflows of various forms of the "fiat experiment" are taking shape. A global pandemic is one thing, but the cascading economic effects that we've seen have been an entirely new beast that the world is confronting (or perhaps even a beast that was always there, but dormant).
I've pulled some quotes from a Coindesk article. There is a lot of attention aimed at Bitcoin & crypto right now as people in other countries - who already dealt with a U.S. Dollar shortage - are now dealing with even more shortages.
"Dollar shortages are the mirror image of the Fed’s “QE infinity” program and the reason it rapidly created swap lines with 16 central banks in industrialized countries in March. At that time, the pandemic had triggered a kind of global bank run into dollars. Debtors in European and Asian financial capitals who’d borrowed in dollars scrambled to buy them to cover margin calls on their collateral, which in turn sent investors racing to secure access to the same USD safe haven. As Jill Carlson wrote for CoinDesk, the Fed had no choice but to “turn on the taps” to feed the world’s demand." coindesk
"liquidity injections are far from evenly spread. " coindesk
What is interesting is that a lot of people have spent significant amounts of time talking about inflation and the injection of cash. Not as many people are talking about how those injections aren't being well-distributed overseas. Instead of rampant inflation, we're seeing the rich hoard all the USD while everyone else is scrambling to try and hedge against local fiat currencies that are rapidly being devalued.
"This is what’s happening in oil-exporting Nigeria, where the collapse in the price of crude has combined with the global dollar shortage to create a real USD crisis. It’s no wonder that Africa’s biggest economy is the biggest contributor to the pickup in the continent’s peer-to-peer bitcoin exchanges." coindesk
We tend to talk about crypto collectibles in this space... what about USD collectibles? Getting USD has never been a problem for me and reading about how people in other countries can't get access to USD and think of them as "rare" is eye-opening.
While some of us are sitting around and worrying about the deflation of USD, others around the world would cut off a limb to obtain some.
"“USD bills are getting like a rare thing, like a collectible,” says journalist Javier Bastardo, who spoke to me from his electricity-challenged home in Caracas. “So, people are finding new ways to avoid the depreciation of the bolivar.”" coindesk
So Where Does Hive Fit Into The Conversation?
This article (and many similar conversations on the topic) discusses the usage of BTC and stable coins as being safe havens for people across the globe who lack access to USD. It even talks about various forms of earning crypto by trading time/input on different websites.
"One way, they are doing this, Bastardo said, is by “doing microtasks, connecting to a website where you can earn 10 satoshis (0.0000001 BTC) for doing different things.”" coindesk
"Previously, on-chain bitcoin fees – currently around $3 per transaction – were too high to sustain the kinds of micropayments made for these many small tasks. But advances in the layer two Lightning Network, which allows for secure off-chain transactions, now mean that sites such as Stak can affordably provide these money-earning services to their customers. Stak users in the Philippines and Argentina can earn enough satoshis to buy smartphones offered on the site." coindesk
Many people are out of work. Many people lack access to USD.
Many simply need a way to bank themselves. I think Hive fits well into this conversation. While the world begins to look at BTC/stablecoins as new forms of wealth preservation and means of payment, I think the HIVE currency needs to position itself as one of the many options available.
Not just an option to store/transfer wealth, but also as an option to actually earn wealth and essentially earn the freedom to bank yourself.
Many people in these countries can't even access a portal to convert their FIAT into Crypto. Buying a chunk of crypto in order to "opt-in" to the crypto industry isn't an option for such individuals.
Instead, they could opt-in by doing various things on the Hive blockchain to slowly but steadily earn the ability to bank themselves and join the new global economy.
"“What people want in Nigeria or in Venezuela isn’t really bitcoin but the U.S. dollar,” says Alejandro Machado, a colleague of Carlson’s at the Open Money Initiative. “So if you can have an asset that mimics or behaves like dollars perhaps we have a solution.”" coindesk
Why HIVE?
Obviously, I've been on Steem Hive for nearly 4 years, so it's easy for me to shill the value of using HIVE and being a part of the Hive blockchain.
What is more important though are the core characteristics of the Hive blockchain and HIVE token that I think go understated to the broader crypto space and world at large:
- Fee-less transactions
- Instant settlement
- Low barrier to entry
- Built-in social features
These are many things that you've probably already heard. With TX fees on BTC at ~$3-$6, it's hard to justify micropayments of any kind. Hell, I won't even send BTC to anyone unless it's over $500 because paying anything more than 1% in fees feels like a crime to me.
With that said, I send small dollar amounts to people all day long. I even give out these rechargeable tips (upvotes) which don't cost me anything and are worth pennies and even fractions of pennies.
I do all of this with 0 transaction fees thanks to Hive. With Hive, people can opt-in and start blogging or doing other hive-related activities and earn something.
Most people aren't going to come to Hive and earn thousands or hundreds or even $10 a day. But when you look to these developing nations and places that lack access to basic finance including the USD, it makes you wonder what earning $0.10 worth of HIVE or $1 worth of HIVE per day could mean for their lifestyle.
It might not pay their bills. It might not make them wealthy.
What it will do is opt them in to crypto and I think that is one of the most valuable propositions that Hive offers in a time like this. Hive is not perfect, but it is far and away superior to the access that many of these global citizens experience today.
p.s. ICYMI the new version of Hivestats.io just dropped today 🦁