First world fat cat Jamie Dimon doesn’t understand poverty. Bashes Bitcoin

By Guest Author - October 20, 2017 (cointelegraph.com)

It’s said how little Jamie Dimon knows about the needs of people who live in the countries of South America, Central America, Africa and Asia.

Dimon keeps finding new ways to show his lack of understanding of Bitcoin, and of the economic realities of most of the world’s population. He recently said:

“If it can be done digitally with the Blockchain, so be it. But it will still be a dollar cryptocurrency. What I have an issue with is a non-fiat cryptocurrency. So crypto sterling, euro, yen, they are all fine. I don't personally understand the value of something that has no actual value.“

Fat cats

For an American millionaire with a narrow view of the world, he may be right. But for the inhabitants of more than 170 countries that do not have strong fiat currencies like sterling, euro, yen or dollars, Bitcoin definitely has value. An example from Brazil clearly demonstrates the benefits of transacting internationally with Bitcoin.

Developing countries are often saddled by their governments with capital controls, to prevent money from leaving the country.

Cost savings

A Brazilian who buys a product from Amazon pays a 6.5% “IOF Tax” retained directly on his credit card. This tax is levied on any international purchase or remittance of securities. In addition, this user is at the mercy of the exchange rate that will be applied by the operator of the credit card. Combined, transactional costs can exceed 10% of the purchase price, and that’s not even considering the import taxes that must be paid.

Now imagine a Brazilian who has decided to study the magnificent world of Blockchain and needs to buy a $100 item from Amazon. This person can use one of several Bitcoin-based websites to get a 15% discount on his purchase. Thus a $100 purchase, instead of costing $110 as it would by using his credit card, actually only cost $85. That’s a huge savings.

Does Bitcoin have any value to the mega-rich like Dimon? Probably not. But in the developing world, where a few dollars can literally make the difference between feast and famine, Bitcoin has real value.

Daniel Duarte