A report on the ground – Cointelegraph magazine
In Havana, the capital of Cuba, a Bitcoin community has emerged from an economically hostile environment. “Satoshi Bitcoin didn't create it for Cubans, but it's really useful for us,” says the Cuban founder of the aptly named local Bitcoin organization, Forte Bitcoin, magazine.
Cubans are turning to Bitcoin as their currency becomes increasingly worthless. Zimbabwe, Venezuela and Lebanon often compete for media coverage over runaway inflation, while the Cuban peso is not far behind.
The Cuban peso has depreciated so much over the past few years that wallets of cash have become more common among rich and poor alike. In practice, even if someone buys Bitcoin at $69,000 at the peak of the 2021 bull run, their money is worth it. Much less in the Cuban peso. Bitcoin fell 80% in the bear market, has since recovered 100%, and the peso is down 90%.
The realization that one has to exchange the local currency for Bitcoin while knowing that it will go bankrupt and still have more purchasing power is the subject of Cointelegraph's new documentary, The Truth Behind Cuba's Bitcoin Revolution.
In the year In 2021, I came across an article by Alex Gladstein, Chief Strategy Officer of the Human Rights Foundation, “Inside Cuba's Bitcoin Revolution,” in which he explains how and why Cubans are using Bitcoin as a stateless, low-fee asset to save money and escape financial repression. In keeping with Bitcoin's mantra line of Don't Trust, Verify, I went to see for myself what Gladstein described.
With camera by my side, my trusty travel companion Paco de la India, I venture into the Cuban Bitcoin community, which now counts thousands of enthusiasts and advocates.
Cuban culture
Following one of the largest financial conferences in the world, Bitcoin Miami, I will travel to Cuba, the Caribbean Sea, one of the few socialist countries in the world, the United States of America, the controversial stage of world capitalism. The contrast caught me more than the tropical heat of Cuba.
Since landing at Havana's José Martí International Airport, I've noticed some funny quirks: doors are opened manually (forget automatic sensors), check-in and immigration are done with pen and paper, and the taxis are 1950s Chevrolets.
It is common to describe visiting Cuba as a time crunch. It is not stubbornness; Cuba has no access to world markets, financial institutions or trade. The United States imposed a trade embargo on Cuba—the longest in modern history—after the island nation nationalized American oil refineries in 1960.
As a result, Cuban industry, economic production and trade lag far behind the modern world.
The embargo, combined with more than half a century of communism, has left a highly educated, unusually literate but desperately poor and hungry population, many with a heartbreaking desire to leave the island to find a “salida,” or Spanish-language exit. “- Exit.
Why is there a country where a taxi driver earns more than an atomic engineer – and the exhausted engineer struggles to feed his family?
Accepting Bitcoin
In such an environment, one wonders why Cubans don't flock to Bitcoin as a currency outside of government control. However, many Cubans are learning and slowly returning to Bitcoin.
Catria, one of the main characters in Cointelegraph's new documentary and one of the founders of Bitcoin Cuba, stated that there are about 5,000 bitcoiners in Cuba, and the number is even higher if you include crypto enthusiasts in general.
Cubans don't have an easy way to get into crypto. First, those with an internet connection cannot sign up for Binance, Coinbase or Gemini because of their nationality. For Cuban Americans on the island, the Cuban government has restricted access to American websites. Cubans buy Bitcoin peer-to-peer through Telegram or WhatsApp groups and in-person meetings.
What amazes me is how little money Cubans spend on savings or “stack sat”. Saving 1,000 satoshis (less than $1 per week) translates to $40 per month per cub. The Cuban peso may not be here in 10 years, but Bitcoin definitely will be. The peer-to-peer process is straightforward, but not beginner-friendly, and these barriers can hinder adoption – even if they have a silver lining, such as. Katria says:
“Because we were denied. [access to exchanges] Being Cuban by default, we can never do KYC. [Know Your Customer]So that's a good thing for us, at least from a privacy perspective.
Buying Bitcoin peer-to-peer and owning private keys is more secure than storing Bitcoin. Clients who trusted custodians like FTX, BlockFi, Celsius and Vauld with their crypto have been wiped out. Cubans don't have that option, and while it takes more time, it's safer.
Eric García Cruz, founder of QvaPay and BitRemesas — a money transfer service using bitcoin that boasts tens of thousands of Cuban users — says the small but growing number of Bitcoin customers is somewhat representative of Cuba's fledgling Internet culture.
Freedom of communication and information
Cubans have been able to get online since 2013. So while the rest of the world was enjoying the iPhone 5C and 4G, the few Cubans lucky enough to have access to a computer could get online that year despite terrible internet connections.
Cubans can now get 3G and sometimes 4G connectivity on their phones. The tech savvy and young Cubans use VPNs to get around online restrictions.
In general, the slowness of internet infrastructure combined with the cost and difficulty of buying a smartphone on a frighteningly low salary means that Cuba is lagging behind in IT.
In the year By 2021, the World Bank reports that three-quarters of Cuba will have internet access. But as the situation has improved, internet censorship has become more widespread, and Cubans are repeatedly told to trust the government through state-sponsored TV, newspapers and media.
Independent media publications are classified as “enemy propaganda”, something I was told a few times during my investigation. I won't share those stories here, but reading stories like this it's safe to say I would have been in trouble had I stayed in Cuba.
Since then, two Cuban journalists have advised me not to return to the island, especially if the Scientology documentary gets too much attention.
A funny note on the state-run media, some Cubans were filled with oranges by the Bitcoin proponent Max Keyser. An appearance on Russia's Today news channel was approved for broadcast in Cuba. Some of Katria's peers watched the show where Keizer promoted fiat currencies and Bitcoin.
And yet, Bitcoin is the magic money of the Internet; It lives on the web. If Cubans aren't online — or watching Russia today — how can they know about it?
Orange pill cube
Bitalion, one of the founders of Cuban Bitcoin, works in telecommunications for the government. As a privileged public sector worker, he explains, he will benefit from better internet connection speeds and lower levels of online censorship.
Bitalion stumbled upon the Bitcoin white paper in 2014 and fell in love with the idea of a neutral and borderless currency. He rhetorically poses the question: For Cubans lucky enough to travel abroad, what can they bring to their new country? The peso in their pocket, or the Bitcoin in their mobile wallet?
Like other Bitcoin advocates on the island, Bitalion volunteers his time to educate people and support Bitcoin adoption. He is also one of a handful of Cubans who run a bitcoin hub. At Cuba's first Bitcoin-only summit, he demonstrated to dozens of Cubans how to pay for goods and services directly through a Lightning Network node.
Cruz, Forte and countless other business owners explain that bitcoin is an easy “orange pill” to swallow, especially for digitally savvy Cubans. You just explain to them that no one is in control. It is stateless money.
At a reasonable price, Bitcoin is a useful tool for a country that has been financially and economically troubled for generations. But for Forte, Catria and Bitalion, the ideology of Bitcoin resonates deeply.
Forte jokes, “Satoshi didn't invent Bitcoin for the Cubans, but it's certainly useful for us.
In an effort to encourage more Cubans to explore Bitcoin, the trio and the Cuban Bitcoin community host monthly educational meetings where they explain the principles of Bitcoin and delve into its philosophy.
They recently introduced the popular My First Bitcoin program in El Salvador, which is gaining momentum and will soon be offered in schools nationwide.
Does Por qué accept Bitcoin? Why do you accept Bitcoin?
QvaPay's Cruz explains that bitcoin is a financial tool that allows small but growing Cuban business owners to access foreign products.
Administrations of recent US presidents have had policies that relax and tighten various aspects of the Cuban embargo based on political expediency.
While trying to open up the Cuban economy to the international market as much as possible, Cruz orange pill suppliers:
“You receive Bitcoin because you do it with a private person. [independent] Coin. The government does not have access to your transactions, so you are free to do whatever you want.
The word “liberty” or “libertad” comes up frequently when I mingle with Cuban bitcoiners, crypto enthusiasts, and entrepreneurs. The ability of citizens to carry money in their wallets without government interference appealed to many Cubans, whom the government has consistently despised.
The ability to store wealth in a Bitcoin Lightning Wallet on a mobile phone rather than in pesos in a bank is also an efficiency gain. This means no queuing at the bank to get cash, which can depreciate by a few pesos during bank holiday weekends.
Cruz and three other business owners share that accepting Bitcoin will benefit vacationers. Adan, a nightclub, bar and restaurant owner, explains that tourists bring a lot of money to Cuba for vacations — and that's dangerous.
Keeping bitcoins in a cell phone wallet is a safer way to travel than flashing dollar bills on the black market in Cuba, unwittingly supporting the illegal and sometimes dangerous black market activity of exchanging public ledgers.
Adan accepts bitcoins because of the global branding that the Bitcoin logo brings. It opens the bar's doors to another market. Like El Salvador, where Bitcoin tourism is a trend, bars and restaurants in Cuba may entice vacationers to spend satoshis instead of pesos.
Finally, there are many ways in which accepting Bitcoin can lead to positive and unexpected results. Mr. Navi Bar and Restaurant, run by Mr. Navi and his son Julian, recently started accepting Bitcoin. Following discussions with Forte, Catria and Bitalion, the Cuban Bitcoin Group now hosts educational Bitcoin meetings on site.
On our first day at Mr. Navi, I pointed him to one of the service staff at Bitcoin. Five days later, I saw her again when we went out to dinner with Mr. Navi and Julian. She looks different – I ask her if she's okay. A few days ago, she confessed that she had been mugged and the attacker stole her purse, money and phone.
Amazingly, when she downloaded the Bitcoin Lightning app I told her about, her money magically appeared on her new phone. Seeing her eye-opening response, I again asked her for advice.
For Cubans, it's clear that Bitcoin could represent their financial future in the face of runaway inflation and government intervention, or a critical tool to unlock blocked markets and the global financial world.
Disclaimer: The views, opinions and views expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of Cointelegraph.
