Has there been any discussion of setting up a bitcoin exchange in Cuba? - page 2.

DavidBAL

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Quote from: BTC Books on May 10, 2013, 08:04:11 PM

The thing is, they've got cell phones in Cuba. I don't know how smart they're allowed to be (the phones), but I have to believe they do SMS at least.

Surveillance aside, SMS is all you really need to get bitcoin rolling.

wow havn't thought of this but so true... is there an exchange accessible through sms?

BTC Books

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The thing is, they've got cell phones in Cuba. I don't know how smart they're allowed to be (the phones), but I have to believe they do SMS at least.

Surveillance aside, SMS is all you really need to get bitcoin rolling.

DavidBAL

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Quote from: qxzn on May 10, 2013, 01:08:58 PM

Another challenge is finding BTC sellers on your Cuban exchange. Assuming you receive local Cuban currency in exchange for your bitcoins, someone is going to have to figure out how to convert local Cuban currency into something they want. Aren't there capital controls making this difficult?

it would definitely rely on Cuban demand... it makes me wonder if there is a large enough market for a shipping company that accepts bitcoins...

DavidBAL

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Quote from: Abdussamad on May 09, 2013, 08:00:53 PM

Most people in Cuba don't have access to PCs or the Internet. So bitcoin won't work in Cuba at all.

http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=85719

Internet access is limited, but if you set up a satellite connection, and then set up a physical store similar to a western union, not a problem.

fivemileshigh

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Excellent question. I think things are going to start off slowly, and via in-person exchange. I would expect btc to be more expensive than on a free(r) market, like almost everything else though.

qxzn

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Another challenge is finding BTC sellers on your Cuban exchange. Assuming you receive local Cuban currency in exchange for your bitcoins, someone is going to have to figure out how to convert local Cuban currency into something they want. Aren't there capital controls making this difficult?

Abdussamad

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Most people in Cuba don't have access to PCs or the Internet. So bitcoin won't work in Cuba at all.

http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=85719

repentance

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On the one hand people want exchanges set up where they are subject to little regulation. On the other hand, people prefer exchanges to operate out of jurisdictions where they have remedies available to them if the operators simply shut up shop and take off with people's funds.

Countries which are subject to economic sanctions in place against them are a problem because it's hard to get funds in and out of financial services operating in those nations. Bitcoin might be good for the people in those countries, but an exchange operating out of those countries could be unattractive to foreigners because of the high risk of their funds being subject to regulatory action and the lack of recourse against shady operators.

BTC Books

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It's a good idea, but risky for those who would do it I'd imagine.

On the sourceforge download page, here:

http://sourceforge.net/projects/bitcoin/files/stats/map?dates=2011-01-01+to+2013-05-09

Cuba has 45 downloads of the client in the past 2 1/2 years - 42% of which were for the linux client, interestingly enough. So they're aware of it. My understanding is that internet access is very limited.

North Korea has none listed. I think that's the only zero.

Even Antarctica has one.

DavidBAL

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Has this been discussed at all? From my experiences there, and from what I've learned about Cuba's "ghost" economy, bitcoin could be massively popular there as a means of easily transacted remittance. The country is quickly warming up to private enterprise (palladars, havana vieja, etc) and is in desperate need of some payment mechanisms that don't require 4 different banks in Europe. Most people in Cuba will tell you that the number 1 problem there is the monetary system. Foreigners must use one currency called CUCs, where as Cubans use MD, the divergence in value between the two is majorly distorting the economy... A taxi cab driver or bartender being tipped in CUCs might make 20x what a PhD or Doctor does. Is bitcoin doing anything in Cuba yet?

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