• youmaynotknow@lemmy.ml
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    1 month ago

    I live in Dominican Republic, and have never heard of this here. I guess being outside of the regular social networks and mainstream services does keep some of us away from some news. Time to do some digging into this.

    Edit (update): So, basically they were operating in commercial malls without any permits and they are not even registered in the country. While you can own cryptocurrency, it’s impossible to use as payment method or to exchange for actual money unless it’s done with some shady crypto exchange. People were given the equivalent to US$100 in exchange for scanning their iris. And, of course, there’s always people that would sell their soul to the devil for way less than that, so you can imagine how great it went for them.

    • shortwavesurfer@lemmy.zip
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      1 month ago

      Not all crypto is this scammy. That’s for sure. Monero is actually used as money and people buy items with it on a fairly regular basis. XMRBazaar and MoneroMarket have ~2900 items and services you can purchase directly with Monero and that number is growing at a steady pace. Plus there are business directories like Monerica that have more businesses listed.

      • youmaynotknow@lemmy.ml
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        1 month ago

        Yeah, I think there’s some good crypto out there. It’s just that it’s not a thing in my country. And that worldcoin seems scammy as hell, plus they are expecting people to provide biometrics for it, hell no!

        • shortwavesurfer@lemmy.zip
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          1 month ago

          Oh, I completely agree. I wouldn’t touch that world coin shit with a 30-foot pole. As for Monero in your country, you could be one of the first.

            • shortwavesurfer@lemmy.zip
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              1 month ago

              Makes sense. What I’ve decided to do is try to help it grow by offering your standard items for Monero, such as AAA batteries, toasters, coffee makers, baking dishes, etc.

              • youmaynotknow@lemmy.ml
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                1 month ago

                I’m trying to convince my wife and other company partners to accept bitcoin and Monero for our buainess, but they are completely against that. Turning Normies while also keeping them clear on what is actually worth it is insane hard, people at just naturally too inclined to their “normal”.

                • shortwavesurfer@lemmy.zip
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                  1 month ago

                  Have you done any digging to see what the actual problem with it is? Are they uncomfortable with the technology? If so, is the technology something you can handle? Are they uncomfortable with the fluctuations? In that case, use the 365 day moving average and then update the price every like four months or something. Even though Bitcoin is the most popular crypto, you may want to avoid it simply because it’s an upskirt chain. And so every transaction you make to a supplier or whatever could be tracked. And so people could find out how much you pay for supplies, etc. In a business context, Monero would probably be better. Just simply because it has privacy. Also, since it is private and fungible, you, as a business owner, wouldn’t have to worry about if the transaction you are receiving is tainted with bad coins from other illicit usage, etc., where on Bitcoin and other chains, you definitely have to worry about that.

                  • EngineerGaming@feddit.nl
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                    30 days ago

                    I guess it’s a) unfamiliarity, b) inconvenience for what they don’t see as much of an upside and c) crypto as a whole being frustratingly seen as a scam, largely because of projects like the one in the post.

          • youmaynotknow@lemmy.ml
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            1 month ago

            I buy it on a need-to-get basis. Basically I use whatever exchange payment service the provider supplies me with, use a one-time use card to pay for the exchange, and done. I don’t have a wallet.

    • MonkderVierte@lemmy.ml
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      1 month ago

      I wouldn’t be surprised if it suddenly crashes and the mugshots get sold to some surveillance AI tech company.