November 17, 2020

Decentralized Currency Effect on Nation-States – Zura Guerra on Crazy Wisdom Podcast

Check out Crazy Wisdom Podcast Episode Page & Show Notes

The biggest challenge for entrepreneurs in most of Latin America is receiving global payments
Despite extensive money printing, the Dollar still enjoys global trust
Nation-states are a centralized way to take care of citizens requirements
- Cryptocurrencies are an important part of a decentralized, open-source, and global alternative
Bitcoin adoption is subject to its acceptance as a store of value and medium of exchange
Startups are an asset class, not just businesses
- Most asset classes are bets on existing value, startups create value by creating something new

Zura Guerra (@_apollune_) is a digital nomad, an entrepreneur, and co-founder of SeedEmbassy
- Check out her Instagram and her Blog
Host: Stewart Alsop III (@StewartalsopIII)

The biggest challenge for entrepreneurs in most of Latin America is receiving global payments
- The technical infrastructure and customer support are limited when it comes to financial solutions
- Additionally, solutions like Stripe and PayPal are either unavailable or subject to numerous regulations
Cash remains the dominant medium of exchange and it should be seamlessly integrated into payment solutions

One can easily fly across Latin America in a few hours, so it doesn’t make sense to have different currencies and payment systems for each country
- Many Latin Americans are using Crypto to bypass bank fees and paperwork for international remittances,
Locally, central banks are launching their own instant payment systems in an effort to transition to a cashless society
Cryptocurrencies witnessed an exponential rise driven by a primal desire for returns
- People thought “I might as well lose everything I have, but I am expecting something higher in return” – Zura Guerra
- That said, there are some valuable projects out there

Nation-states are a centralized way to take care of citizens requirements
- Cryptocurrencies are an important part of a decentralized, open-source, and global alternative
  - For instance, when governments were thinking about helicopter money to citizens, Uniswap protocol set a precedent for a global money airdrop
People can contribute to building and using a decentralized network and simultaneously build wealth when its value increases
- Akin to a company doing an IPO then giving shares to its users
Currencies are built on trust, inflation and money printing erodes trust in fiat currencies
- Keep in mind, people globally still trust the Dollar
- Bitcoin adoption is subject to its acceptance as a store of value and medium of exchange

Startups are an asset class, not just businesses
- Evident in tech stocks being one of the rare profitable investments during the pandemic
- That said, they still must behave like a business
Most asset classes are bets on existing value, startups create value by creating something new
Crypto and startups are bound to merge. However, changing between crypto and fiat needs to become seamless and integrated at scale