Interview | Description | Timestamps | Show Notes

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Location: Bogota, Colombia
Date: Tuesday, 11th February
Project: InTiColombia & Buda
Role: Co-Director & Country Manager Colombia

The use case for Bitcoin can vary from country to country. How people use Bitcoin in New York will differ from on the border of Colombia and Venezuela. Where speculators may have access to the best hardware wallets and sophisticated security, those in the developing world may have to share a phone and have limited data connectivity.

As part of my series covering Bitcoin Around the World, I am going to visit the far reaches of our planet, to look at how different communities are using Bitcoin and the challenges they face.

In this interview, I speak to Mauricio Tovar Gutierrez & Alejandro Beltran Torrado, part of the Bitcoin community in Bogota, Colombia. We discuss the politics and economics of Colombia, Bitcoin regulation and their close ties with Venezuela.

00:03:45: Introductions
00:04:02: Mauricio and Alejandro’s backgrounds
00:07:54: Politics in Colombia
00:14:44: Economic growth and inequality
00:18:07: Corruption
00:19:23: Education
00:23:24: Health system
00:27:28: Current situation with FARC
00:30:17: History of money in Colombia
00:35:14: Food, climate and entrepreneurship
00:43:55: Similarities to Venezuela
00:45:30: Local Bitcoin exchange, buda.com
00:48:18: Bitcoin regulations in Colombia
00:55:05: Adoption of Bitcoin and crypto
01:03:18: Education and PR for Bitcoin
01:07:05: Current situation in Venezuela
01:11:28: Basic needs for Venezuelan population
01:17:44: Bitcoin for remittances
01:19:50: Other Bitcoin use cases
01:23:20: Value of money in Latin America
01:25:07: Final comments

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• Connect with Mauricio:

  • On Twitter

  • On LinkedIn

  • On Instagram

• Connect with Alejandro:

  • On Twitter

  • On LinkedIn

• Mentioned in the interview: 

  • Right-wing paramilitarism in Colombia

  • Why paramilitary groups still exist in Colombia

  • The Secret History of Colombia’s Paramilitaries and the U.S. War on Drugs

  • Colombia is slowly moving toward Bitcoin-friendly regulations

  • Crisis in Venezuela

  • Venezuela crisis: How the political situation escalated

  • Venezuelan Migrants Are Using Bitcoin for Remittances

  • Venezuela Smashes Weekly Bitcoin Trading Record

  • Bitcoin Trading Volumes In Venezuela Continue To Climb

• Other relevant WBD podcasts:

  • WBD179: Bitcoin Youth Programme in El Salvador with Michael Peterson

  • WBD108: A Bitcoin Reality Check in Venezuela with Jill Carlson, Alejandro Machado & Jamaal Montasser

  • WBD071: Update on the Venezuelan Political Crisis

  • WBD019: How Venezuelans are Using Bitcoin to Counter the Effects of Hyperinflation with Alejandro Machado