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ggerrein

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Location: Brazil

I am currently living in Brazil, and the level of awareness of Bitcoin and other crypto-currencies is more or less nil. However, in Argentina right next door, it's huge. There is a huge untapped market here, and am interested in developing a community. Anyone interested in the area, please contact me.

Posted on July 11, 2014 at 9:29 AM

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• malacalypse

  

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  @ggerrein I'm half Brazilian but living in the US. What opportunities do you see in Brazil? My understanding is that Argentina is into bitcoin because their currency is hyperinflating and banks are implementing capital controls. Bitcoin in comparison looks like a good deal.

  Posted on July 14, 2014 at 6:43 PM
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• ggerrein

  

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  @malacalypse I guess I can take a mathematical approach to supporting my statement about Brazil. I'll start with the premise that there is a lot of opportunity in the US for Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in general. For now, I won't go into supporting that premise, and assume since you are on this forum, you agree with that. If you compare the US with Brazil (I lived in the US most of my life), there are a couple important differences as it relates to Bitcoin. First, there are more barriers to entry in starting a business, or commerce in general. My wife has recently started a company here, and it's much more of a headache than in the US. Taxes, fees, red tape... Second, because of the fact that Bitcoin is almost unheard of here, there is much less looming regulation in Brazil as it pertains to cryptocurrrencies into the near future. Both of these reasons in my mind make it more compelling of a country to use Bitcoin here than in the US. So if it's a great idea in the US, it's even more so here, and it's untapped.

  Posted on July 15, 2014 at 3:40 AM
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• malacalypse

  

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  @ggerrein Very true. Business and commerce in Brazil are messy. I started a small business there in 1999 and had to pay $600 to have a landline connected. Bank fees are some of the worst in the world, but much of this is around interest rates for loans so not sure how bitcoin could help. With regards to regulation, taxes, etc how could bitcoin help improve these issues? Wouldn't you still be subject to all the laws of the land? If bitcoin was seen as a way to dodge taxes I'm sure the authorities would jump on it pretty quick.

  Posted on July 15, 2014 at 3:08 PM
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• ggerrein

  

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  @malacalypse I can't tell if you are just playing devil's advocate, or you truly believe opportunities do not abound here in Brazil. For the sake of conversation, I'll assume the latter. Here are a couple counterpoints:

  1). Many of the banking and credit card fees cannot be justified by interest rates and loans. The same can be said for the US and Europe, but in my opinion they are more oppressive here. I don't have any hard numbers to quote, so I can concede they are potentially only as exorbitant as US banking fees let's say. Even if that were the case, Bitcoin would be a great alternative if only to transfer money. 2) Limiting one's actions based on potential future laws and regulations could be considered either prudent, or defeatist, depending on your inner spirit animal. I do not condone circumventing existing laws of the land, but could make a strong case for ignoring regulations that are not in existence to blaze new paths forward. This is where I would typically insert an inspirational message, maybe a quote from the movie Shawshank Redemption, but I'll spare you this time. 3) #2 not withstanding, much of the world's economy operates what is traditionally classified as the black market. This is often characterized in a criminal light, but most people do not report income from baby sitting, grass cutting, selling an old cell phone etc, and most people would also not consider this criminal. In Brazil, a significant amount of commerce takes place on the website bomnegocias.com.br which is similar to Craig's List. Ignoring this market to me doesn't make sense as a matter of reality.

  However, if you are just playing devil's advocate, you can ignore the above points.

  Posted on July 15, 2014 at 3:51 PM
  Last Edited: July 15, 2014 at 3:53 PM
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• malacalypse

  

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  @ggerrein I guess I was somewhere in between playing devil's advocate and not believing that opportunities particular to Brazil abound. I think bitcoin has enormous potential the world over but I haven't given a lot of thought to how bitcoin could be helpful to Brazil in particular, so I was interested in pursing the idea with you.

  Was wondering if there was an obvious "big win" in Brazil vs other countries. So far doesn't seem like it, but I will definitely begin to mull it over now.

  Posted on July 15, 2014 at 5:58 PM
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• ggerrein

  

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  @malacalypse It appears that you fall right in line with most every other Brazilian here I talk to about this. Brazil is the #7 economy in the world, and as of now has by most accounts no Bitcoin presence exists. If that is not enough for you to see my original statement of a "huge untapped market", I'm afraid our half-Brazilian love affair must end. This was intended to be a thread to hopefully start up some user groups or general interest here. Unfortunately that intention has seemingly failed. Big frowny face.

  Posted on July 16, 2014 at 5:14 AM
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• malacalypse

  

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  sorry @ggerrein. didn't mean to rain on your parade. really. looking back at the thread I think I came across as more critical than I meant. like all countries, brazil has potential for bitcoin adoption. I wish you luck in you endeavor to start a local user group there.

  Posted on July 17, 2014 at 11:13 AM
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• ggerrein

  

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  No hard feelings @malacalypse. Thoughtful questions never hurt anyone.

  Posted on July 18, 2014 at 5:46 AM
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• malacalypse

  

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  Right on @ggerrein. I came across this while surfing this morning, thought you might be interested:

  https://www.bitcointoyou.com/curitiba.aspx

  Posted on July 18, 2014 at 9:26 AM
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• ggerrein

  

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  Hey, thanks @malacalypse. Love affair officially back on!

  Posted on July 18, 2014 at 9:30 AM
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