Several middle-class users admit that they survived the coronavirus pandemic in part because of Bitcoin.
For many times, Bitcoin has come under scrutiny and the subject of talks, most of them negative, ever since it appeared online. A great number of regulators even present Bitcoin as merely a tool for scammers and other criminals. However, for some middle-class users, Bitcoin is a lifeline and it gave them the means to survive the coronavirus pandemic.
While regulators and politicians like European Central Bank Chief Christine Lagarde regard Bitcoin in a very negative way, often criticizing the cryptocurrency for its loopholes, some middle-class users see it otherwise. They consider their Bitcoin investment as a savior that came at the right time during the coronavirus pandemic.
A Necessity
For Saeed, a middle-class Iranian who immigrated to France in 2020, Bitcoin allowed him to escape the harsh conditions in his home country, particularly during the coronavirus pandemic. He said that due to the difficulty he encountered in using the mainstream financial systems, Bitcoin and similar cryptocurrencies have become somewhat a necessity. Saeed narrated that his profession as a software engineer in Iran only managed to provide him with barely $ 360 annually because of inflation.
That all changed when the middle-class user began freelancing for foreign clients who paid his salary in Bitcoin. As of September 2020, Saeed said he finally saved enough cryptocurrency to apply for graduate school in France. However, he recalled the coronavirus pandemic made the immigration process more difficult.
People are using Bitcoin because the banking system has failed them. https://t.co/EFkxSSEUUb — Leo Weese 獅草地 (@LeoAW) January 22, 2021
A Savior
"I passed all that strange bureaucracy and to get to a course in France last September, with only 1,000 in my pocket," recalled Saeed. He also narrated how Banque Nationale de Paris, HSBC, and La Banque Postale rejected his attempts to open a bank account, which he finally did after a month. What made it doubly difficult is that entire Europe is grappling with the coronavirus pandemic, making it harder for middle-class user to survive. He said it was a good thing he still had Bitcoins as that was what sustained him during those difficult times.
Saeed is the type of person whom Central Bank Chief Lagarde mentioned as benefiting from such Bitcoin, and other cryptocurrency, loopholes. The middle-class Iranian does not mind as for him, Bitcoin helped him survive difficult times made even harder by the coronavirus pandemic. For him, cryptocurrency is a savior. "Many people in Iran are working with European tech companies and receive Bitcoin in return," Saeed revealed. He admits being glad to benefit from the "loopholes" as he believes he cannot buy such directly from the exchange because of his nationality.
