Bitcoin as an Escape Route

A few days ago, I returned from Argentina after attending @labitconf. I wanted to express my gratitude to the organization and the Bitcoiner community for the treatment received.

There, I spoke with many people who face significant difficulties in their daily lives due to the high inflation in the country. If at least one person reads this text, is influenced by it, and decides to change their life, it will be a success. Here we go…

Workers who receive their salary in pesos have to perform real acrobatics to face daily life. Some citizens have two jobs and are exhausted from working. They finish the day and just want to rest before starting the next day.

They are in the mindset of a “rat race” with no prospects for change, a lot of stress, and little time. They don’t have savings as they practically spend everything. You can come and tell them to save and do it in Bitcoin or dollars, but reality is sometimes more complicated.

To make a big change, one has to step out of the “comfort zone.” If someone wanted to start a business, they would have to apply for an additional loan to meet bureaucratic and operational requirements. This is unfeasible due to the cost and because banks don’t give loans. Then add the issue of taxes and high inflation of the local currency, which discourages entrepreneurship in a country where half of the population lives on state social assistance.

Those who live with solvency and possibilities are those who work remotely and receive their salary in dollars. They benefit from a high devaluation of the local currency, acquiring products and services at a low price.

Knowing all this, what possibilities would an Argentine citizen (or in a similar country) have to change their situation by offering services on the internet and having the opportunity to get out of that endless race? There are some countries where people are not banked and cannot receive payments into a checking account or have a debit/credit card.

This is where Bitcoin emerges as a solution to that need. A need to obtain resources by offering services to a large number of people over the internet. We all have a gift that we can develop and offer solutions to those who need something we can cover.

The main limitation is that Bitcoin is not easy at the beginning. At first, you encounter a wall, but like everything in life, it requires time and learning to acquire the necessary skills to use it competently. It will be worth investing time to have a possibility of improving your life.

Once you learn the basics, what economic expense is required to set up an online business?

Initially, the answer might be zero.

• Set up a store on a third-party Btcpay server. As offered by Decentralized on its website for free (contributions of value to maintain the service are appreciated). Create an account at https://pagos.dinerosinreglas.com. If you wanted to receive payments via Lightning, you could hire hosting with Btcpay server on lunanode at a competitive price.
  
• Create a hot wallet on an old (Android) mobile phone that you can install, for example, Samourai wallet on. This mobile will always be offline. It will act as a Hardware wallet, since initially we could not afford a payment of 100-200 USD to store Bitcoin. This can be done in case we have good future income. At PrivacidadBitcoin, we offer workshops and free classes to teach how to configure a wallet from scratch in Samourai or Sparrow wallet if you have a PC or laptop.
  
• On your mobile phone, the one you normally use, you can use Sentinel app. With the extended public key (xpub) from your hot wallet, you can create a watch-only wallet in Sentinel to create transactions and sign from your offline mobile (as if it were a hardware wallet). This way you increase your security level without exposing your funds on an online device.
  
• After that, create a store in Btcpay with the xpub of the hot wallet. This way you can receive store payments without exposing your private key.
  
• Create different services in your online store and start sharing interesting information on social networks to attract potential clients who need you.

Many will use the excuse that Bitcoin’s volatility is a hindrance (and they have a point). Over time, that currency falls short against Bitcoin, even despite such volatility. It must be understood that this is an open door to monetize your skills cheaply and immediately through the internet, which was not available before.

Picture shared by @kicoes on Twitter

After receiving payments, they can decide what % to save in Bitcoin and what amount can be changed to dollars, stablecoin (assuming risks) or pesos to live on.

In Western countries, there is not so much need to spend Bitcoin for now. They keep Bitcoin as an investment, with the mission of obtaining more dollars or euros in the future, and they don’t mind going through KYC. They understand Bitcoin in economic terms, but they are unaware of what Bitcoin contributes in terms of Sovereignty, Privacy, and Freedom, and perhaps it’s because they haven’t needed it (for now…).

Bitcoin is a tool of freedom and provides resources to those who need a way to bypass the system and survive. If you need it, I encourage you to start your journey down the rabbit hole.

As an example, there are people in this community who used Bitcoin as a means to escape the destruction of their local currency, improving their quality of life. Many will tell you it’s impossible, but reality shows otherwise. They are the anonymous heroes of this time and are paving the way for others who are struggling. This writing is dedicated to them.