The President-Elect Of Colombia Is Pro-Bitcoin

Former guerilla and Colombian economist, Gustavo Petro, was elected president of the country, beating his hostile who claimed ignorance of Bitcoin.

This is an sentiment editorial by João, laminitis of Boletim Bitcoin, a Brazilian website focused connected Bitcoin, and contributor astatine Bitcoin Magazine.

This communicative was primitively published successful Portuguese by Boletim Bitcoin.

Former rebel Gustavo Petro, left, his woman Veronica Alcocer, backmost center, and his moving mate Francia Marquez, observe earlier supporters aft winning a runoff statesmanlike predetermination successful Bogota, Colombia connected June 19, 2022. (Photo/Fernando Vergara—AP)

Who Is Gustavo Petro?

Gustavo Petro is simply a Colombian economist, who served arsenic a guerrilla and astir precocious a legislator from Colombia, and was elected arsenic president of the Latin American state with 50.49% of the votes against 47.25% successful favour of Rodolfo Hernández, a businessman who became known arsenic the “Colombian Donald Trump.”

Petro served arsenic a guerrilla successful the Movimento 19 de Abril (M-19) group, which aboriginal became the M-19 Democratic Alliance party, successful which helium was elected a subordinate of the Chamber of Deputies, starting his governmental career.

After the election, Gustavo Petro stated that helium intends to “develop capitalism successful Colombia.” According to the president, it is indispensable “to flooded feudalism successful Colombia, to flooded the hereditary mentality linked to this satellite of serfs.”

Rival campaigner Rodolfo Hernández acknowledged the predetermination result.

Petro became known for helping to motion Colombian authorities deals with the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) and akin groups successful 2016, arsenic good arsenic denouncing corruption scandals.

Gustavo Petro And Bitcoin

On much than 1 occasion, Gustavo Petro has stated that bitcoin is simply a superior currency exertion and that Colombia should nonstop its vigor surplus to excavation the cryptocurrency successful strategical regions, arsenic a mode to curb the commercialized successful illicit substances.

In 2017, Petro stated:

“Bitcoin removes the issuing powerfulness of states and seigniorage of currency from banks. It is simply a assemblage currency that is based connected the spot of those who transact with it, arsenic it is based connected a blockchain, spot is measured and grows, hence its strength.”

Regarding bitcoin mining, Petro said:

“Cryptocurrencies request cleanable vigor and we tin bash what El Salvador did, which is export cleanable energy. We tin bash it with the upwind from La Guajira, with the waterfalls, without making reservoirs, from the occidental upland scope to the Pacific oregon the ocean.

“And we tin alteration the Wayú communities, the ember workers of the Cesar region, the achromatic communities of the Colombian Pacific seashore into owners of these caller forms of energy, linked to cryptocurrency computing, and past we volition person different world.”

In a tweet successful October 2021, Petro even suggested that the state should beryllium a notation successful the accumulation of Bitcoin and not cocaine.

Interestingly, Petro is being billed by section media arsenic the archetypal left-wing president elected successful the country, which has been ruled successful caller years by supposedly centrist parties. This fact, successful immoderate ways, contrasts with the root and libertarian ideas from which Bitcoin emerged — influenced by a beardown assemblage of cryptographers, mathematicians and libertarians.

When asked astir Bitcoin, Petro’s rival campaigner stated that helium is unaware of the subject, and spoke astir much regulations for the industry.

If Colombia integrates bitcoin nether the authorities of Gustavo Petro, either done mining oregon making the cryptocurrency ineligible tender, it would beryllium the 3rd sovereign state successful the satellite to travel this path, initiated by El Salvador and accompanied by the Central African Republic.

Importance Of Mining

Bitcoin mining is 1 of the astir cardinal aspects of the protocol’s operation, being liable for an important portion of the network’s security. Through mining and the Nakamoto Consensus rules, the web agrees connected the extremity authorities of transactions.

In caller years, dozens of large organization players person started to integrate mining arsenic a mode to monetize idle and underutilized electricity, oregon vigor sources that would different beryllium wasted. This is the lawsuit of a fig of large lipid companies, specified arsenic ExxonMobil, that are utilizing flare state — state that would beryllium burned into the ambiance owed to inherent issues successful the assemblage — for bitcoin mining.

The authorities of El Salvador plans to usage geothermal vigor from its volcanoes to excavation bitcoin, thing that is acceptable to go important for the industry. Colombia entering into bitcoin mining would beryllium exponentially bigger than the Salvadoran experiment, arsenic the state has a gross home merchandise of $271 billion, astir 10 times that of El Salvador.

Colombia is ranked 11th successful the planetary ranking of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency adoption successful the 2021 Chainalysis report, down Venezuela and Argentina successful the region.

This is simply a impermanent station by João. Opinions expressed are wholly their ain and bash not needfully bespeak those of BTC Inc. oregon Bitcoin Magazine.