Podcast appearances and mentions of alejandro machado

“La Justicia tarda pero llega”… es una frase hecha, pero últimamente estamos viendo una seguidilla de casos donde la lentitud es particularmente llamativa. En lo relativo a los fondos ganaderos, las demoras están llevando incluso a la muerte de los animales, el activo principal que tienen estas empresas que han quebrado. Especialmente complicado es el caso de República Ganadera: según informó ayer el diario El Observador, inversores damnificados constataron que al menos murieron 50 vacas, mientras que otras están enfermas y además sueltas en los montes linderos al campo donde deberían estar. Mientras tanto, hay una disputa entre fiscales que impide definir quién liderará la causa: el primer fiscal designado Alejandro Machado, que también tiene a cargo la investigación sobre otro de estos fondos, el Grupo Larrarte, pidió abstenerse. El caso se derivó entonces al fiscal de Lavado de Activos, Enrique Rodríguez, pero él también recurrió la resolución, un recurso que se está procesando. Al mismo tiempo, la Justicia concursal también demora: todavía no se decretó el concurso de República Ganadera, a pesar de que esa firma “cayó” en noviembre. Podríamos sumar otros episodios, como el del exsenador frenteamplista Charles Carrera, quien denuncia que cinco meses después de que Fiscalía solicitara su desafuero, todavía no fue formalizado el proceso en su contra. La Tertulia de los Jueves con Martín Bueno, Gabriel Mazzarovich, Ana Laura Pérez y Daniel Supervielle.

El fiscal especializado en Delitos Económicos y Complejos, Alejandro Machado, archivó este lunes la causa que investigaba la expedición de un pasaporte uruguayo al narcotraficante Sebastián Marset, gestionado en 2021 mientras éste estaba preso en Dubai por usar un pasaporte paraguayo falso. En su escrito, de 103 páginas, el fiscal analiza nueve puntos clave del caso: el arresto de Marset en Emiratos Arabes Unidos, su derecho a recibir una constancia de que estaba apto para obtener un pasaporte uruguayo, el derecho a obtener un pasaporte de nuestro país, la incidencia de la futura entrega del pasaporte en el fallo de la Justicia emiratí que lo absolvió, el tiempo en que se procesó el trámite del pasaporte, la actuación del subdirector nacional de Identificación Civil para acelerar el trámite, la entrega en mano del documento pedido por Marset al abogado Carlos Balbi, los chats entre la entonces subsecretaria de Relaciones Exteriores, Carolina Ache, y el entonces subsecretario del Interior, Guillermo Maciel, y la reunión entre Alejandro Balbi y Ache en la oficina de esta última. En esos asuntos, a partir "de las profusas evidencias colectadas no surgen elementos que permitan sustentar que los imputados hayan incurrido en conductas merecedoras de reproche penal", sostiene el fiscal al final de su dictamen. Una de las conclusiones principales del fiscal Machado es que Marset cumplía con los requisitos exigidos por el decreto que regulaba el procedimiento para otorgar ese documento a uruguayos en el exterior. Otro punto analizado por el fiscal Machado fue si el proceso de impresión del pasaporte fue acelerado indebidamente por las gestiones del abogado Alejandro Balbi ante el subdirector de Identificación Nacional Civil, Alberto Lacoste, a quien conocía. Machado señala que el procedimiento para acelerar la expedición de un pasaporte permite adelantar el trámite de 48 a 24 horas y que es un procedimiento instalado desde hace años en esa oficina del Ministerio del Interior. Tras perder la valija diplomática para el envío del pasaporte a EAU, Balbi tramitó una nota para que Marset habilitara al abogado Carlos Andrés Balbi a retirar personalmente su pasaporte en la sede de la Cancillería. Machado sostiene que todos los declarantes coincidieron en que se trató de un procedimiento excepcional, pero señaló que, al estar Marset en prisión, “lógicamente se encontraba impedido de retirar él mismo dicho documento de viaje”. En cuanto a las conversaciones entre Ache y Maciel, en la que el subsecretario le advierte a Ache que Marset es “un narco peligroso y pesado”, Machado planteó que cuando se concretó ese diálogo en noviembre de 2021, Marset aún no había empezado gestionar su pasaporte y por eso que no hay referencias al trámite. Uno de los puntos que Machado no pudo esclarecer por completo fue el contenido de la reunión entre Alejandro Balbi y Carolina Ache el 24 de noviembre de 2021 en la oficina de la entonces subsecretaria, ya que ninguno de los dos quiso dar explicaciones al respecto y del relevamiento de sus teléfonos no surgieron elementos relevantes. Si bien el fiscal concluyó que no hay reproche penal posible sobre los imputados, en sus consideraciones finales afirmó que los ministros y subsecretarios “faltaron a la verdad” a la ciudadanía durante la interpelación celebrada el 22 de agosto de 2022, que disparó luego el inicio de la investigación penal. En otro expediente aparte, Machado indaga la maniobra que habría existido en el gobierno para ocultarle a la justicia un documento en el que constaban los chats entre Ache y Maciel. En esa maniobra aparece involucrado el ex asesor presidencial, Roberto Lafluf, que habría roto el documento, y el ex canciller Francisco Bustillo. La Tertulia de los Miércoles con Martín Bueno, Ana Laura Pérez, Oscar Sarlo y Fernanda Sfeir.

La Asociación de Magistrados Fiscales del Uruguay presentará una denuncia ante la Organización de las Naciones Unidas y ante la Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos, ante lo que percibe como el “hostigamiento” y “acoso” que sufren estos profesionales de parte del sistema político. La decisión fue anunciada a raíz de los comentarios que provocó la semana pasada el archivo de la investigación por el proyecto del Antel Arena impulsado en los últimos dos gobiernos del Frente Amplio, que dispuso el fiscal Alejandro Machado. Entre otros dirigentes del oficialismo, la senadora nacionalista Graciela Bianchi expresó que “la fiscalía es una construcción de la izquierda para asegurar la impunidad” y que “desmantelar ese centro de poder se va a lograr, pero lleva tiempo”. La demanda fue anunciada por el presidente de la Asociación de Fiscales, Willian Rosa, que cuestionó que se efectúen “acusaciones temerarias sólo para desprestigiar a las instituciones; sobre todo si quienes lo hacen tienen cargos de responsabilidad”. Al respecto, señaló que de 25 mil denuncias que llegan por mes, 23 mil se descartan o no llegan a ningún resultado, por lo que “el archivo es algo común en una investigación”. Rosa dijo esperar que la “mirada internacional” sirva para que los magistrados encargados de la persecución penal “puedan trabajar en condiciones adecuadas”. La Tertulia de los Miércoles con Pablo Díaz, Bruno Gili y Eleonora Navatta.

En un dictamen de 88 páginas conocido ayer, el fiscal de Delitos Económicos, Alejandro Machado, consideró que los elementos de la “profusa evidencia” recolectada “no permiten sustentar” que los funcionarios a cargo de la obra “hayan incurrido en conductas merecedoras de reproche penal”.  Los denunciantes plantearon que la construcción del Antel Arena violó “el principio de especialidad” consagrado en el artículo 190 de la Constitución, que establece que “los Entes Autónomos y los Servicios Descentralizados no podrán realizar negocios extraños al giro que preceptivamente les asignen las leyes, ni disponer de sus recursos para fines ajenos a sus actividades normales”.  En ello, coinciden con el Tribunal de Cuentas de la República. En contrapartida, el fiscal Machado destacó que el directorio que construyó el Antel Arena se basó en “prestigiosos constitucionalistas como así también a renombrados estudios especializados en Derecho Administrativo”, por lo que “jurídicamente es una cuestión absolutamente opinable determinar si Antel se encontraba habilitada para abocarse a la construcción del citado complejo multifuncional en el marco de un proyecto de marketing y publicidad, pero es precisamente por ello, que debe descartarse la arbitrariedad que reclama el artículo 162 del Código Penal”, el que tipifica abuso de funciones. Los denunciantes criticaron también el costo final del Antel Arena -que tiene una capacidad para 12.000 espectadores- estimado por ellos en U$S 119 millones a pesar de que inicialmente se previó que fuera US$ 40 millones. El fiscal dijo que “los US$ 40 millones de los cuales se hablaba públicamente se referían únicamente a la primera etapa de la obra, esto es, la obra civil”, y se preguntó: “¿Cuánto costó en definitiva el complejo multifuncional Antel Arena? ¿Costó los US$ 120 millones que señala el informe de E (el auditor externo contratado por el directorio denunciante) o costó los US$ 65 millones que establece el Ec. L (Daniel Larrosa, director de Antel en representación del Frente Amplio) en su informe presentado ante Fiscalía?”. Machado planteó que “el único informe oficial es el elaborado por el Tribunal de Cuentas con fecha 6 de marzo de 2019”, que concluye que “lo gastado por Antel en el proceso de construcción y puesta en marcha del Antel Arena asciende a la suma de US$ 85.995.517”. De todas maneras, consigna que “en el Plan de Negocios del Antel Arena ya se manejaban tres escenarios posibles en cuanto a la inversión, a saber: primer escenario una inversión de US$ 51 millones más tributos; segundo escenario una inversión de US$ 59 millones más tributos; y tercer escenario una inversión de US$ 66 millones más los tributos correspondientes”.

Renunció el canciller Bustillo tras acusaciones de Ache sobre caso Marset, ese es el titular esta mañana en el diario El Observador.  Agrega: La exvicecanciller Carolina Ache le había entregado al fiscal Alejandro Machado chats y grabaciones de conversaciones con las que intentó probar que el gobierno le pidió ocultar datos de la investigación administrativa sobre el pasaporte dado al narcotraficante. La Diaria por su lado titula: Renunció Bustillo, envuelto en un escándalo por el caso Marset. Carolina Ache presentó en Fiscalía audios que lo comprometen en una trama de obstrucción de la Justicia, en la que dijo que también participaron Heber, su subsecretario Maciel y el asesor presidencial Lafluf. El título de El País: Caso Marset: Cae Bustillo por los audios con Ache. La exvicecanciller grabó una conversación con el ministro que desencadenó la crisis política. Agrega que durante el interrogatorio Carolina Ache comentó que había grabado la comunicación telefónica con Bustillo por la  "presión enorme porque por un lado el ministro me estaba pidiendo lo contrario a lo que me pedía formalmente por la Cancillería. Yo además sabía que todo iba a terminar en la Fiscalía. Quizá, y yo lo pienso, si hubiese accedido a todo lo que me pedían hoy era subsecretaria pero hubiese cometido un delito, no dormía tranquila pero la dignidad está por encima de cualquier cargo”, señaló ayer Carolina Ache. A su vez, cosultado su abogado el Dr. Jorge Díaz sobre esa decisión de Ache, dijo que grabar ese tipo de conversaciones era legal y que había jurisprudencia en ese sentido.  La Tertulia de los Jueves con Gabriel Mazzarovich, Alberto Volonté y Cecilia Eguiluz.

For more people to find bitcoin and continue to use it, we need to better understand how it is being used today and what purpose it is serving. Assumptions and anecdotes have been used in the past but as the industry grows, more qualitative and quantitative research is needed. The Open Money Initiative is an example of the type of research that produced very insightful findings on how real people were using Bitcoin in Venezuela and other South American countries. The project was co-founded by Alejandro Machado, a Venezuelan that is one of the 6.1 million migrants that have left since authoritarianism took over the country. Alejandro joins Maruicio to share why he decided to leave Venezuela, how he found bitcoin, and what he discovered through his research project, the Open Money Initiative.Alejandro MachadoTwitter: https://twitter.com/alegwThe Open Money Initiativehttps://www.openmoneyinitiative.org/Bitrefillhttps://www.bitrefill.comThis podcast episode was produced by Quill.

Alejandro tiene una perspectiva marcada por su admirable trayectoria. En esta entrevista el nos comparte su historia y varios insights de tremendo valor. Desde Venezuela 'pal mundo, ahora como product strategist en Bitrefill y en el camino cofundando una iniciativa de dinero abierto buscando reducir la opresión financiera venezolana. compartan su opinión en los comentarios. No olviden darle like, compartir y subscribirse. https://ibexmercado.com/ Host / Esteban de la Peña: https://twitter.com/yengmo Guest / Alejandro Machado: https://twitter.com/alegw Bitcoin Block Height: 760,673

Today I am speaking with Alejandro Machado, Product Strategist at Bitrefill. When I was introduced to Alejandro, I was told that he is someone who not only has a unique perspective on crypto and its potential impact on the world, but he's working on solutions to make it happen. Alejandro is Co-founder at the Open Money Initiative, an organization dedicated to researching perception, product, and policy related to digital money. And he recently joined the team at Bitrefill, the world's largest crypto-only e-commerce site. During our discussion, you will hear how Alejandro left career opportunities in Web2 to pursue his passions in Web3. We also discuss his passion for making a difference in his home country of Venezuela, his vision for how digital currency can impact the world, and how Bitrefill is making it possible to use crypto for everyday living – from making purchases at Amazon or paying your credit card. Show NotesThe GRTiQ Podcast takes listeners inside The Graph (GRT) by interviewing members of The Graph's community and ecosystem.  Please help support this project and build the community by subscribing and leaving a review.Twitter: GRT_iQwww.GRTiQ.com

Para emprender no siempre hay que ser el socio fundador, sino que también uno se puede sumar al equipo en una etapa temprana y tener un impacto directo en el crecimiento y desarrollo del emprendimiento. Este es el ejemplo de Alejandro Machado, que luego de tener y vender su propio emprendimiento, YoCalculo, se sumó al equipo de ServiSenior como country manager en Uruguay.Servisenior nace en Chile y es una plataforma web que conecta a personas de más de 50 años con oportunidades laborales en cocina a domicilio, limpieza doméstica, aseo profundo, y cuidado de adultos mayores. Por qué enfocarse en seniors mayores a 50 años? porque en general estas personas tienen gran dificultad para volver a encontrar empleo de calidad, pero a su vez aportan gran valor y experiencia. De esta manera, Servisenior potencia el desarrollo de oportunidades laborales flexibles para seniors, brindándoles la posibilidad de tener mayor ingresos, sentirse vigente y útil. Escuchá la charla para conocer cómo Alejandro adaptó el modelo de Servisenior de Chile a Uruguay, cómo hizo para reclutar seniors y generar tracción en plena pandemia, qué desafíos encuentra al levantar capital, y cómo espera que evolucione la plataforma en los próximos meses.

In this episode, we discuss the emerging using of cryptocurrency in Venezuela and the potential use case for this revolutionary technology to combat the endemic hyperinflation that plagues the country's economy. Venezuela's national currency, the bolivar, is at the brink of extinction. The value has plummeted to such a degree that the currency is worth less than the paper is printed on. This severe devaluation has led to a de facto dollarization in the country, and a reliance on dollar remittances from families living abroad. However, sending money across borders into Venezuela can be very difficult. US dollars are restricted, and capital controls affect the functionality of traditional remittance services like MoneyGram and Western Union. Many of the five million migrants spread across Latin America are unbanked (without a checking or savings account), and have to resort to remittance transfers in black markets that are often rife with high fees, delays, and potential fraud, affecting their ability to send funds to their families in Venezuela. Cryptocurrency may be a solution. Venezuela now ranks third in cryptocurrency use worldwide. How is it being used? What advantages could cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin have for Venezuelans who need to preserve their wealth and purchasing power amidst endemic hyperinflation and monetary restrictions by the Maduro regime? We're joined in this episode by Alejandro Machado, a Venezuelan entrepreneur and software designer. Alejandro is the co-founder of the Open Money Initiative (OMI), a research organization that looks into how people use money in closed economies, specifically how Venezuelans at home and abroad used dollars, Bitcoin, and bolivars. He's also the Head of Research at Valiu, a Colombia-based startup and remittance service working to help fight inflation with synthetic U.S. dollars backed by Bitcoin.  We discuss how Bitcoin solves the problem of hyperinflation in Venezuela, and how remittance services like Valiu can help create new synthetic dollar accounts for Venezuelans who need a solution to avoid using bolivars, which can decrease in value at a literal hourly rate. We also discuss the use of AirTM, another cryptocurrency exchange and remittance service, by the interim government of Juan Guaidó to send funds to health care workers battling COVID-19, and the efforts of the Maduro regime to block those transactions to prevent emergency funds from reaching Venezuela's health care heroes.   Twitter: @alegw Open Money Initiative Valiu Valiu's Bitcoin dollars are changing remittances, starting in Venezuela | Decrypt Venezuelans bypass Maduro's blockade using digital wallet provider AirTM | Miami Herald Venezuela Blocks Opposition From Disbursing $18 Million To Health Workers via Bitcoin Exchange Airtm | Bitcoin.com

Open Money Initiative founder Alejandro Machado joins the show to explain how Bitcoin is actually used in Venezuela, and how the country is dollarizing in real time. In this episode: How a power cut has been linked to a recent dollarization movement in Venezuela, and how dollar usage became decriminalized Whether dollarization has improved the prospects of everyday Venezuelans Why Maduro is actually in favor of partial dollarization How bitcoin allows you to import a system of credible property rights Why bitcoin still has a relatively low level of penetration in Venezuela Why stablecoins have not made a dent in Venezuela so far

On Today's Episode of Let's Talk Bitcoin... Join Adam B. Levine, Andreas Antonopoulos, Stephanie Murphy and Jonathan Mohan for a first-look at a particularly draconian law that's been proposed in India. Later, HRF.org director Alex Gladstein joins Adam B. Levine for the latest in the Global Voices series. This week we're talking practical applications in Venezuela with returning guest Alejandro Machado. Thanks to Purse.io for sponsoring this episode of Let's Talk Bitcoin! Join the Let's Talk Bitcoin! team for a live recording at the Blockchain Training conference (https://blockchaintraining.org) --- This episode was sponsored by Purse.io and BlockchainTraining.org Music for this episode was provided by Jared Rubens and general Fuzz, with editing by Steven. Any questions or comments? Email adam@ltbshow.com. Image Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/alyssablack/12185839253/

Alejandro Machado (@alegw) is a software designer and researcher with Open Money Initiative. We talked about the current state of affairs in Venezuela, the role of cryptocurrency for liberal democracies, what it's like being a Venezuelan abroad, and whether there is hope for change in Venezuela. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/frank-talks-to-anyone/message

Interview location: New YorkInterview date: Monday 13th May, 2019Company: Open Money InitiationRole: Co-Founders - Jill Carlson, Alejandro Machado & Jamaal MontasserVenezuela is often promoted as an ideal use case for Bitcoin, a deflationary currency in a country suffering hyperinflation. Despite the examples of people mining Bitcoin or using Bitcoin to hold value, real adoption is complicated.In Venezuela, people are using a range of currencies including the Dollar, the Peso and Bitcoin, but there are times when the Bolivar must be used, even though getting hold of the currency can be difficult.The Open Money Initiative is a non-profit organisation whose motivation is believing that access to a free and open financial system is a human right. Their design-led approach is to understand the human experiences of survival in Venezuela and to support and inspire their partners to develop products and services that help people.In this interview, I talk with the team from OMI about their work, their design-led approach to research, the reality of money within Venezuela, and how Bitcoin can help.-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show my doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: Bitcoin | Ethereum | Litecoin | Monero | ZCash | RipplecoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

Bitcoin (BTC) has a substantial liberating potential, American mainstream newspaper Time reports on Dec. 28. The aforementioned article claims that “speculation, fraud, and greed in the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry have overshadowed the real, liberating potential of Satoshi Nakamoto’s invention.” According to the article’s author, Bitcoin “can be a valuable financial tool as a censorship-resistant medium of exchange.” Alejandro Machado, a cryptocurrency researcher at the Open Money Initiative, reportedly said that the fee on a wire transfer from the United States to Venezuela can be as high as 56 percent. To circumvent such conditions, Venezuelans have reportedly turned to cryptocurrency, receiving Bitcoin from their relatives abroad. The main alternative is to wire money to Colombia, withdraw and bring cash to Venezuela, which according to the article, “can take far longer, cost more, and be far more dangerous than the Bitcoin option.” Times suggests that Bitcoin is a good way to protect oneself from fiat currency inflation. Venezuela is prime example of that, with the inflation of their native currency projected to top 1 million percent. But there are also other similar examples, like Zimbabwe, where former president Robert Mugabe “printed endless amounts of cash.” But the author points out: “His successors can’t print more Bitcoin.” Bitcoin is also, according to the article, a tool to evade mass surveillance in places like China. That being said, as Cointelegraph reported in March, according to U.S. whistleblower Edward Snowden, Bitcoin isn’t optimal for avoiding government coercion, and he believes that the world needs a better option. Times also points out the advantage given by the inability of governments to censor transactions or freeze Bitcoin wallets. In fact, Cointelegraph reported in April that WikiLeaks’ Coinbase account has been suspended due to a term of service violation. Still, nobody can prevent WikiLeaks from using cryptocurrency wallets where the organization controls the private keys. In fact, WikiLeaks is still accepting cryptocurrency donations and also added support for Snowden’s favorite crypto Zcash in August 2017. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/nolan-emmett/message

Cryptocurrency use is increasing amongst everyday Venezuelans. The Maduro regime has been tightening controls on the economy and continues to reject humanitarian aid. However, independent cryptocurrencies (as opposed to regime-controlled petro) are enabling censorship-resistant peer-to-peer digital cash transactions. Alejandro Machado, Founder of Open Money Initiative, joins CSIS’ Moises Rendon.

In this fascinating and compelling panel on Why Decentralization Matters at the Oslo Freedom Forum in New York, I spoke with Alejandro Machado, a researcher at Zcash; Amber Baldet, founder and CEO of Clovyr, a decentralized software and developer tools company; Andy Bromberg, cofounder and president of CoinList, a compliant token offering platform; and Megha Rajagopalan, correspondent for Buzzfeed and former China bureau chief. In this discussion, we cover what is happening in authoritarian regimes like China and Venezuela that highlight the importance of decentralized technologies, how people in those countries are using crypto assets, and how technologists think about decentralization and censorship-resistance. We also talk about the usability issues of decentralized technologies and how people in authoritarian regimes can even get access to them. Plus, we also look at how bad state actors are also using the same technology to oppress people or evade sanctions. Thank you to our sponsors! StartEngine: https://www.startengine.com Episode links: PC Mag story on how cryptocurrency is both "an oppressor and a lifeline" in Venezuela: https://www.pcmag.com/feature/362486/in-venezuela-cryptocurrency-is-an-oppressor-and-a-lifeline Naval on Unchained talking about how money is now speech: http://unchainedpodcast.co/naval-ravikant-on-how-crypto-is-squeezing-vcs-hindering-regulators-and-bringing-users-choice Google's Dragonfly project: https://theintercept.com/2018/09/14/google-china-prototype-links-searches-to-phone-numbers/ For more on how decentralization and blockchain technology can help Alex Gladstein of the Human Rights Foundation on Unconfirmed: http://unconfirmed.libsyn.com/alex-gladstein-of-the-human-rights-foundation-on-the-first-crypto-war-ep021 A previous interview with Amber Baldet on Unconfirmed: http://unconfirmed.libsyn.com/sxsw-episode-amber-baldet-blockchain-program-lead-at-jpmorgan-on-the-potential-clash-between-blockchains-and-the-right-to-be-forgotten A previous interview with Andy Bromberg on Unconfirmed: http://unconfirmed.libsyn.com/coinlists-andy-bromberg-on-the-one-big-regulatory-issue-facing-crypto-ep030

In this fascinating and compelling panel on Why Decentralization Matters at the Oslo Freedom Forum in New York, I spoke with Alejandro Machado, a researcher at Zcash; Amber Baldet, founder and CEO of Clovyr, a decentralized software and developer tools company; Andy Bromberg, cofounder and president of CoinList, a compliant token offering platform; and Megha Rajagopalan, correspondent for Buzzfeed and former China bureau chief. In this discussion, we cover what is happening in authoritarian regimes like China and Venezuela that highlight the importance of decentralized technologies, how people in those countries are using crypto assets, and how technologists think about decentralization and censorship-resistance. We also talk about the usability issues of decentralized technologies and how people in authoritarian regimes can even get access to them. Plus, we also look at how bad state actors are also using the same technology to oppress people or evade sanctions. Thank you to our sponsors! StartEngine: https://www.startengine.com Episode links: PC Mag story on how cryptocurrency is both "an oppressor and a lifeline" in Venezuela: https://www.pcmag.com/feature/362486/in-venezuela-cryptocurrency-is-an-oppressor-and-a-lifeline Naval on Unchained talking about how money is now speech: http://unchainedpodcast.co/naval-ravikant-on-how-crypto-is-squeezing-vcs-hindering-regulators-and-bringing-users-choice Google's Dragonfly project: https://theintercept.com/2018/09/14/google-china-prototype-links-searches-to-phone-numbers/ For more on how decentralization and blockchain technology can help Alex Gladstein of the Human Rights Foundation on Unconfirmed: http://unconfirmed.libsyn.com/alex-gladstein-of-the-human-rights-foundation-on-the-first-crypto-war-ep021 A previous interview with Amber Baldet on Unconfirmed: http://unconfirmed.libsyn.com/sxsw-episode-amber-baldet-blockchain-program-lead-at-jpmorgan-on-the-potential-clash-between-blockchains-and-the-right-to-be-forgotten A previous interview with Andy Bromberg on Unconfirmed: http://unconfirmed.libsyn.com/coinlists-andy-bromberg-on-the-one-big-regulatory-issue-facing-crypto-ep030

The crypto nomads interview Alejandro Machado, a Venezuelan national and programmer/product designer who is currently building cryptocurrency based products and services to help Venezuelans store and move value amidst hyperinflation.

Interview location: Shoreditch, London, UKInterview date: Mon 7th May 2018Despite the recent fall in the Bitcoin price from $20,000 in January back down to $6,000 in March, the price continues to grow year on year, with the price today back over $7,500. These price moves create lots of excitement and bring speculators into the market, yet many still question where the value is? What are the use cases? Who is spending Bitcoin?Right now, the use cases for western nations are niche, and with the recent scaling issues, there has been a decrease in use as a means of payment. While Lightning Network promises fast and low-cost payments, the question remains whether people will use Bitcoin instead of their debit/credit cards or cash in their pocket. Others argue spend volumes aren't relevant and that Bitcoin is a store of value, but objectors claim that the volatility means it can't be. This though is relative.On a personal level, I use Bitcoin to pay my mining bills because the transactions are faster and more straightforward than via the bank, but I use Bitcoin for little else. My experience is in a closed loop of activity within the Crypto world. The use case for Bitcoin is broader in collapsing economies, for example, in Venezuela Bitcoin is a lifeline for many struggling with the impact of hyperinflation:- People using Bitcoin as a store of value to ensure that their income holds value- Others are mining Bitcoin as a means to earn an income to feed their familiesBitcoin maximalists often discuss hyperbitcoinisation: the transition to an economy where Bitcoin is the primary currency, and with Venezuela, this is a possibility. The strict controls over the use of foreign currency have led to an ever-growing Bitcoin economy in the country. The trustless, censorship-resistant, decentralised nature of Bitcoin makes it an excellent option for a population living through a collapsing economy.Even the socialist government of Nicholas Madura has recognised the potential of Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies with the building of government mining farms, able to mine Bitcoin competitively due to the control of the energy system to the launch of the much criticised $PETRO as a way to generate much-needed money for the failing government.In this interview, I met with Alejandro Machado to discuss the recent history of Venezuela, government corruption, failed socialist policies and the increase in Bitcoin adoption to counter hyperinflation.Alejandro is a Venezuelan national who left the country in 2015. He writes openly about the failing Madura government for the Caracas Chronicles and is a developer and designer, working on Crypto projects.Alejandro brings an insight into life inside Venezuela, why he left, how Crypto can help the population and his desire to return to his home country.-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show my doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: Bitcoin | Ethereum | Litecoin | Monero | ZCash | RipplecoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

Join Marty as he sits down with Alejandro Machado to discuss Bitcoin and Venezuela, how Bitcoin may be able to help the struggling country, and how Venezuela got to this point. The two also venture into discussions about UX in crypto, the weird world we're living in, and how it's getting harder and harder to trust the information we receive on a day-to-day basis. Follow Alejandro on Twitter @alegw Follow Marty on Twitter @MartyBent