
November 17, 2020
Decentralized Currency Effect on Nation-States – Zura Guerra on Crazy Wisdom Podcast
Check out Crazy Wisdom Podcast Episode Page & Show Notes
Key Takeaways
- 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
Intro
- Zura Guerra (@_apollune_) is a digital nomad, an entrepreneur, and co-founder of SeedEmbassy
- Host: Stewart Alsop III (@StewartalsopIII)
Startup Challenges in Latin America
- 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
Crypto Currency
- 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
- 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
- Cryptocurrencies are an important part of a decentralized, open-source, and global alternative
- 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
Building startups
- 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