Thread by @TheCStephen

💡FACT:
Many smaller or underdeveloped nations rely on international remittances for a large portion of the money that circulates in their economy.

co: @LordFusitua

💡Also a Fact:
Sending money from 🇨🇦 & 🇺🇸 to foreign nations can be challenging b/c:

A) Banks (domestically & abroad) aren’t always accessible

B) The cost of sending $$$ reduces the funds that actually make it to recipients abroad.

The banking services that we have access to in 🇨🇦/🇺🇸 can distort our view of life for people in other countries.

Estimates say more than 1.6 Billion people globally don’t have a bank account…

gfmag.com/global-data/ec…

Meanwhile, Western union is charged a premium to send money around the 🌍.

The chart in the link below breaks down their fees by destination…

westernunion.com/content/dam/wu…

It doesn’t include the (up to 6%) fee added for currency conversion.

Fortunately, there is another option.

Anyone w/ a cell phone can download a FREE #Bitcoin wallet & gain unlimited access to a global monetary network capable of connecting them w/ their family over seas in minutes.

The cost to send a #BTC transaction is completely independent from the amount of money sent.

⬇️ Here, you can see 2 real payments that were sent 1 min apart at 8:04 & 8:05

It cost $0.54 to send $49
& cost $0.44 to send $700,000

The fee for a #BTC transaction increases w/ network congestion.

Since there’s a ceiling on the total # of transactions that can be processed within a given time, during high traffic times sending #Bitcoin on the network costs more.

If you are sending $700k overseas, you might not care if you pay $0.50 or $20.50.

So, for settling large transactions directly peer-to-peer securely in minutes #Bitcoin is ideal.

🤔 But, what if you’re only sending a small amount & a $20 transaction fee is too expensive?

There is a 2nd #Bitcoin network that is specifically designed for smaller transactions.

It’s called ⚡️#LightningNetwork

Transactions on LN cost less than $0.01 & settle nearly instantly.

⬇️ I used @MuunWallet to send $0.20 internationally for virtually no cost.

The ⚡️#LightningNetwork has the power to change the international remittance industry forever.

That’s 1 reason why El Salvador recently made the decision to implement #Bitcoin at scale nation-wide.

Here’s @ln_strike CEO @jackmallers explaining:

When it comes to sending money across borders, traditional banking leaves many people without access or forces them through hoops to send funds.

Meanwhile, 3rd party vendors like Western Union make a killing off of people who have no other choice.

#Bitcoin fixes this.