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Comment by technotony | Hacker News Reader

By 'bitcoin currency' I meant launch bitcoin infrastructure locally, carry out publicity and educate people about bitcoin to make it easier for local people to use. Would also need to do things like translate into local language, and probably build specific tools to make the currency work locally. It would be a unique opportunity to really engage with people, and understand their currency needs as users. I think there would be quite a lot of infrastructure to build to get a working ecosystem going.

The point about volume of currency is significant... though any break from the Euro will likely collapse that value significantly... any ideas for how to hack that?

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Maybe you should say "promote Bitcoin and tools for its use, like electronic wallets". When you say "launch a bitcoin currency" it seems you are talking about a Bitcoin competitor, like Devcoin, Freicoin, Namecoin, etc.

It would be a unique opportunity to really engage with people, and understand their currency needs as users.

A digital currency isn't going to meet their needs. Have you ever been to Cyprus? Except for transactions between multinational branches/subsidiaries located on the island, most of the economy runs on cold, hard cash. A lot of stores and restaurants don't have the capital to invest in the technology they'd need to use bitcoin for POS.

Haven't been to Cyprus, but all they need to use Bitcoin is a smartphone which costs a few hundred dollars. I presume 3G coverage is decent? If small businesses aren't taking credit cards anymore then the loss of revenue would pay for an Android device in a few days.

Cyprus is not America and it definitely is not like Silicon Valley. The use of credit cards is a uniquely American phenomenom; European businesses and especially Eastern European businesses prefer debit cards--to the extent they even accept cards at all.

Moreover, a few hundred dollars is a very, very big number in Cyprus (and indeed, most of the world), and was definitely beyond the reach of almost all of the small businesses--let alone consumers--even before the recession. There simply isn't any financial justification for wasting a few hundred dollars on equipment you'll only use once or twice a year--if that.

Bitcoin--and most digital payment services--simply aren't relevant to Cyprus' economy and will not be the vehicles that get it out of the recession.

"a few hundred dollars is a very, very big number in Cyprus"

Cyprus is not a) eastern anything (including european) b) outside the european union c) a third world country

A few hundred dollars is not far off a few hundred Euros, the currency of Cyprus.

Can you put an email in your profile? We've got some people independently interested in the Bitcoin-for-Cyprus thing.

Hi, it should be there already... let me know if you can't see it.

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