How Crypto-Coins Can Help the Unbaned has been a recurring theme in the last 12 months. It is a laudable goal, but one that is not easy to accomplish. Steven Gilbert, a technology enthusiast and employee of the stablecoin startup, has experienced the struggles and successes of trying to do so when he went to one of the poorest neighborhoods in Bogota, Colombia, to encourage adoption.
A social experience
Inspired by a Hurricane Affected Project in Puerto Rico in which he participated, Steven Gilbert wanted to do something charitable action, but this time related to one of his passions - criptomoeda. Living in Bogota, capital of Colombia, the 30-year-old man decided to help the needy in a poor area, usually outside the centers, in the south of the city. There, he wanted to present the benefits of crypto-coins to people who did not have bank accounts as part of an experiment.
"I WAS INTERESTED IN VISITING THIS NEIGHBORHOOD THAT IS IN A LARGE PART WITHOUT ACCESS TO BANKS AND POOR, AND SEEING HOW THEY WOULD RECEIVE THE IDEA OF CRYPTOMOIDS. THE CONCLUSION WAS THAT THEY WERE INTERESTED, "HE SAID.
Steven, who is director of international operations for Reserve and now lives in California, went to the neighborhood of Ciudad Bolívar and donated part of his own money to nine families - 44 people in total - who live there. He found them visiting a community center, Niños y Niñas, Builders of Dreams, which helps displaced people in Colombia. Most of the people he talked to had phones but no bank accounts, so he managed to show Breadwallet and give them an Ethereum - 1 ETH, about $ 200, at the time of donation.
Steven also embarked on a mission to educate local people who live far from the banks and the financial opportunities that can be found in downtown Bogota about the benefits of crypto-coins and how they can help them.
"WITH A LADY, I SCANED THE COD CODE, MAKE THE TRANSFER AND SHE CAN SEE HOW MUCH WAS IN WEIGHTS. She asked me: 'Is this really true?' Her face lit up when I told her that she was. SHE WAS FASCINATED FOR DIGITAL MONEY ", HE WAS REMEMBERING.
The difficulties of implementation
But there were several problems. Steven said that despite the enthusiasm of the community, the biggest problem was getting them to use the crypto-coins. "I was trying very hard to get a merchant in the community to get them to use [criptomoeda]. I was like, 'Hey, I'm donating this money to a community as part of an experiment, it would be great if people could use it.' " Although he had managed to persuade the villagers to download the wallets - many had heard of Bitcoin, but had a rough understanding of crypto-currency - merchants were more difficult to influence.
"THE TRADERS WHO I TOLD IN BOLIVAR CITY HAD NOT HEARD TO TALK ABOUT BITCOIN OR OTHER CRIPTOMOIDS, THEN I WAS BEGINNING OF THE ZERO ESTACA IN ORDER TO EDUCATE THEM. IF I HAD MORE TIME, I AM CONFIDENT THAT I COULD HAVE BRING VARIOUS TRADERS ON BOARD, BUT I WAS LIMITED TIME BECAUSE I WAS LEAVING FROM COLOMBIA. "
When Steven left, he left them with the knowledge of Localbitcoin.com and the many crypto-coins from Bogotá. He also left them with a list of shops and restaurants that accept crypto-coins. He said:
"The main thing was education. At the very least, I wanted to see how they would get the crypto-coins. The biggest benefit is that many of these people do not have bank accounts, they are not included in the banking system, so a very cool thing about crypto coins is that you do not need anyone's permission to download a wallet. Once you know how to do that, you're effectively banked. "
Other difficulties included the logistics of introducing crypto-coins into only a small part of a neighborhood.
"THE AREA WAS DANGEROUS, I COULD BE ONLY THERE DURING THE DAY. I WOULD HAVE MADE MORE TRAINING OFFICES, BUT BECAUSE I WAS NOT GIVING TO ALL THE NEIGHBORHOOD - JUST FOR A HUNTER OF FAMILIES - THAT COULD CREATE VOLTAGES, "HE SAID.
But Steven said that despite the difficulties of conducting the experiment alone, it was easy to introduce people out of debt into the crypto-coins and make them enthusiastic about the concept.