In a world where “talent is everywhere, but opportunities are not,” the existing fiat monetary system perpetuates the divide between those with access and those without. Even in democratic societies, which have their own flaws, people generally enjoy stable currencies, freedom, and the rule of law. These characteristics create an opportunity-rich environment, where a person's beginning in life does not have to determine where they will end up.
Bitcoin advocate and bestselling author Lyn Alden is a great example of how to overcome obstacles and take advantage of the opportunities that democratic societies offer. Despite living homeless for several years, worked his way up to becoming a well-known figure in financial circles. His story is not unique; Many refugees fleeing war and persecution have found ways to adapt, innovate and thrive in new lands, contributing significantly to their adopted communities.
WhatsApp co-founder Jan Koum, for example, I grew up without electricity in Ukraine., and after immigrating to the United States, he spent several years cleaning grocery stores before finally achieving success. PayPal co-founder Max Levchin has tweeted about how he found success in America after escaping persecution in Russia. “My family and I, and thousands of Soviet Jews like us, came to the United States as refugees in '91, fleeing a regime that persecuted us for who we were.“Another amazing immigrant success story is that of Mai Lee Chang, who was born in a Thai refugee camp to Vietnamese parents and only knew one English word, “restroom,” when she started school in the US. Chang overcame numerous obstacles and is. now an engineer contributing to NASA's trip to Mars.
However, the situation is very different under authoritarian regimes, where a person's potential is often predetermined by the circumstances of their birth. Normally, in those places, if you are not born into a family with connections to corrupt officials (in other words, if you are not a rich kid), your ability to innovate and your entrepreneurial spirit will be systematically suppressed. Under these regimes, the fiduciary system is not based on merit, but is instead rigged in favor of these “crony boys.” In other words, the systems are based on nepotism, family connections and corruption.
In the past, when there was no internet or smartphones available, the average individual living in such hostile environments simply accepted the harsh reality of being destined to serve dictators and their families. Today, however, Bitcoin is emerging as more than just a technology; serves as a gateway to financial empowerment without compromising moral values. It offers a powerful tool to break down many of the concrete barriers erected by oppressive governments.
the experience of Swan Htet Aung (Swan), an AI entrepreneur from Myanmar (formerly known as Burma), demonstrates how Bitcoin can provide a lifeline to people facing the harsh reality of starting from scratch with no money or family connections. After founding his AI company in 2016, Swan's startup grew rapidly and by 2020 was generating annual revenue of more than $300,000.
Highlighting the importance of Bitcoin in preserving financial health, Swan recalled a pivotal moment after the coup of february 2021. Four days after the military takeover, he withdrew his company's cash and converted it to Bitcoin and USDT. He made this decision just a couple of weeks earlier. Banks in Myanmar began limiting withdrawals. for individuals and companies, allowing you to take control of your company's assets. Unfortunately, his decision to keep the remaining dollar assets in banks caused him to lose a significant portion of the company's financial assets when the Myanmar junta enacted an extreme new monetary policy designed to conserve dollars for its war machine. The policy, issued by the Central Bank of Myanmar on April 3, 2022, resulted in the forced conversion of Swan's dollar reserves into Myanmar's rapidly depreciating local currency (the Myanmar kyat) without its consent. , at 30% below the market exchange rate.
the new policy mandated that “Residents within the country must repatriate foreign currency earnings earned abroad to Myanmar. These profits must be sold and exchanged for Myanmar kyats within one business day through banks holding Authorized Dealer (AD) licenses by opening a foreign currency account in Myanmar.”
People living in countries with more fair and equitable legal systems may find it difficult to understand such oppressive financial policies. However, Myanmar actually has a history of centralized financial institutions wielding power to repress its citizens. A notable example happened in 1987, when the government suddenly demonetized the 25, 35 and 75 kyat notes, effectively erasing 80% of the currency circulating in the economy overnight.
More recently, after Myanmar's violent military coup in 2021, the Burmese military used tactics such as freezing the bank accounts of activists, journalists, and supporters of the anti-coup movement, further demonstrating the junta's tactic of oppressing the people through the fiat financial system. Unfortunately, these abusive policies are often effective in places like Myanmar, where people are preoccupied with ensuring their physical survival, getting food on the table, and keeping a roof over their heads, leaving them with little or no energy to challenge or struggle. against injustices.
Before 2010, Myanmar had a lower mobile phone ownership rate than North Korea, and the dictator what shweThe regime discouraged Internet use by spreading propaganda that the Internet was simply a place for adult videos. However, by 2016, the landscape had changed dramatically as social media, affordable smartphones and cheap SIM cards had become widely accessible to the majority of the country's population.
Initially, Burmese entrepreneur Swan came to the US at age 32 to attend the GenAI event hosted by AWS in San Francisco to learn and gain new experiences, with the intention of returning to Myanmar. However, while he was in transit, the Burmese military activated a forced recruitment law, drastically changing his life trajectory. This law, combined with the financial instability caused by the actions of the Central Bank, widespread socioeconomic injustice, and the country's hyper-surveillance system, led Swan to decide to stay longer in the US. He now hopes to obtain a Visa O1 continue your work and rebuild your dream in an environment where there are more opportunities to innovate and develop. While the United States has its own inequalities and internal problems, many foreigners still see it as the best destination to pursue their dreams, believing that hard work and innovation can lead to success.
In a conversation for this article, Swan recounted the early days of his startup in Yangon, Myanmar's largest city. Together with two friends, Swan launched an artificial intelligence software company in 2016, a period when Myanmar was undergoing significant reforms and gradually increasing its participation in the global community after more than half a century of isolation.
“Human labor is cheaper in Myanmar than subscribing to software,” Swan said. “It makes sense for business owners to hire staff on a salary of $100 a month and assign them multiple tasks, whether within or outside the scope of the job, as opposed to a chatbot for customer service.” While AI job displacement is increasing in the developed world, in developing countries exploitative conditions and cheap labor costs will always outweigh AI, at least in places where electricity is limited and there is no democracy. (Of course, low wages and sweatshop working conditions also raise a number of ethical issues that need to be addressed.)
Swan then shared the initial difficulties of his startup: “We spent almost all of 2016 developing the product because we didn't get a single customer. I had a side job and lived with my parents in a rented apartment while the other two co-founders left to pursue other full-time opportunities.”
Swan, who speaks fluent Burmese and English, mentioned that he faced social limitations when raising funds, mainly because Myanmar is an emerging market. Furthermore, there was an underlying social barrier: he had never worked abroad and had a degree from a university in Yangon. Unlike privileged 'sidekicks', Swan lacked insider experience, so his new company struggled to find investors despite generating annual revenue of $300,000 in 2020 and signing deals with more than 1,000 business partners, including corporations. multinationals such as Samsung, Unilever, Carlsberg, NIVEA and many more.
If a fundraising system based on protocols like Bitcoin were available to entrepreneurs in the developing world, talented people like Swan could scale their startups regardless of their socioeconomic status or whether they have a prestigious degree.
Bitcoin may be seen as an investment asset class in the developed world or misunderstood as an environmentally harmful technology, but it represents a lifeline, money and access to the global capital market for talented people in developing countries who are trapped in a unfair monetary system. which primarily benefits the privileged 'chick buddies'. These talented individuals do not have the luxury of participating in the unfinished global debate over Bitcoin. Rather, they are desperately trying to free themselves from the cycle of economic oppression. Fortunately, under the Bitcoin standard people can access financial freedom and opportunity, ultimately contributing to a more equal and prosperous global community.
This is a guest post by Win Ko Ko Aung. The opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.
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