I am the creator of BitcoinDuLiban.org. I am on a mission to educate Lebanese about the importance and usefulness of Bitcoins in their lives. AMA

What is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin (₿) (ticker BTC)is an open source cryptocurrency. It is a decentralized cryptographic currency without a central bank or single administrator in control that can be sent from user to user on the peer-to-peer bitcoin network without the need for 3rd person in between like bank, or payment processor or institution all transaction processing and verification is carried out collectively by the network.

Find out more at http://www.bitcoinduliban.org/

Why Bitcoin is the future?

Bitcoin emerged in 2009 as more economies across the world started losing trust in the current banking model. Institutions that have been around longer than ourselves have changed very little throughout our lifetime. Not only does the lack of trust, and stagnant change of banks allow Bitcoin to thrive, but also the possibility of eliminating inflation. Bitcoin saw the opportunity to take the power out of the institutions and provide a better service, and the people responded. Bitcoin operates universally, meaning for the first time, there is a possibility of a global currency. With truly international currency possibilities for global economic growth, social equality, self-sovereignty is endless.

Why Bitcoin and not others?

It is a very good question, there at the moment of writing over 2000 projects and “coins” that emerged after Bitcoin. Many of them claim to be faster, better and more flexible than Bitcoin however very few have withstood the test of time or delivered their proposed product. The basic fundamentals of Bitcoin’s principle monetary policy are unprecedented, and by now, it is impossible to replicate its level of decentralization or network security, which is powered by a computer network as powerful as almost 12 trillion Intel Core i7 processors. Bitcoin also has the largest social / community strength. I would HIGHLY advise against investing or getting dragged into any project that claims superiority, I have single rule : if it says it's better than Bitcoin then its what we call “scam-coin” you will only get pulled in and lose your bitcoin/usd value causing a lot of pain and sadness . Sit down, read, learn and be patient, you will not miss out on anything over night and if something is rising in price quickly most likely it will crash as fast.

Does bitcoin have an applicable use in daily life or is it only for holding for future gains?

Bitcoin has taken over the cryptocurrency market. It’s the largest and most well-known digital currency today. Many large companies are accepting Bitcoin as a legitimate source of funds, you can use your Bitcoin at but not limited to : KFC, Burger King, Microsoft, AT&T , Expedia, Subway, Twitch, Virgin Galactic and many more just look it up. You can look up merc and services at https://spendabit.co/ So if you are living abroad, you can use your bitcoin just like any other known currency in addition there are Debit cards in collaboration with VISA network offers that are backed by Bitcoin making you able to pay with it anywhere in the world just with a swipe or tap.

As Lebanese in Lebanon, how can I buy or sell bitcoin ?

In Lebanon unfortunately we can not use our banking system to purchase bitcoin, there was a time where rain.bh an UAE based exchange was accepting Lebanese Cards, till it was stopped but give it a try we weren’t able to confirm all cards.

Therefore most common way to buy bitcoin in lebanon is using P2P which is person to person exchange, this can be through an international website such as localbitcoins.com or hodlhodl.com , all you gotta do is find a sell offer initiate transaction with seller , send him his payment using WesterUnion or Moneygram and once the seller receives payment your bitcoins will be released but make sure you use escrow service which ensures safety of your transaction therefore bitcoins you are buying are frozen for the seller and he can not retrieve them unless you fail to pay or run out of time window to pay. Another p2p way is through local bitcoin communities , there are plenty of traders willing to exchange with you however always ask for the reputation of the seller inside a group and never respond to private messages unless it is a confirmed reliable trader just to avoid losing and being scammed.
Feel free to find out more about how to buy in Lebanon at http://www.bitcoinduliban.org/

If I have a bank account outside Lebanon, can I use bitcoin to transfer money from Lebanon to my bank account outside?

It is possible to transfer Bitcoin to an international account in the USA or EU for example, you would need to use recognized exchanges such as coinbase.com kraken.com and many others. It would be as simple as sending BTC to your coinbase account, converting to USD and withdrawing it to your account. However you must take few precautions, if you are sending a significant amount of BTC and converting it to USD you will need some kind of proof that these funds are yours otherwise you might get investigated for money laundering. So is it convenient to send ? I do not think so, if you managed to get what we call now in Lebanon “ Fresh USD” it would be much less of a hassle to simply initiate an international transaction.

Why would I want to send Bitcoin to my family or friends in Lebanon ?

This is where I believe BTC can shine for us, you can use exchanges as coinbase,kraken or any prefered place to purchase some bitcoin that can be transferred to your family wallet within minutes. Your family or friends can exchange bitcoin or part that is needed with local traders to LBP at desired exchange rate therefore you are not forced to exchange at rates given by WesterUnion, after which they will be able to do their daily purchases and mitigate inflation rates to some extent. You can send as little as $1 and the transaction costs less than $1 for any amount.

Why is the Bitcoin price so volatile ?

Indeed it can be, sudden swings of 20% both ways are considered normal if you look at daily data, however bitcoin since 2009 had only one trend which is upward, 80% chance is if you bought BTC at any moment in past 2 years is that you are on break even or positive not loss. Feel free to try this exercise by going to https://dcabtc.com/

Should I invest?

NO. Now since we got the short version of this, let me elaborate. By the end of the day it is a new class of an asset, the price is still in the discovery phase and it could cause a lot of pain and sleepless nights if you invest more than you can chew to possibly lose. No one can advice you what to do with your money and how to position them, however i highly encourage to read, educate yourself on money before investing in BTC a good start would be https://bitcoinduliban.org. Please ask more knowledgeable bitcoin users and double check sources , once you feel confident enough that you understand this monetary system you can try dipping your toes with small amounts and build your position from there. Just stay away from quick gains schemes such as “online mining” “cloud mining” and anything that offers 100% returns in a very short time, if it's too good to be true then it's a scam.

Scams, BE AWARE.

Due to our difficult situation we are being targeted by constant advertisement of potential new solutions using “newly developed cryptocurrencies“ , unfortunately such new technology does not exist and they are trying to take advantage of us by promising fake solutions.

Even Bitcoin can not provide you with a solution to your hard worked money being inaccessible in any Lebanese bank.

Here are few typical scam msgs:

• “A new amazing great best investment …”
• “Start mining Bitcoin now … just send us xx initial investment”
• ‘XX is a new digital currency being developed by a group of Stanford PhDs”
• “Elon musk give away - Send us 0.1 BTC or other crypto to get 10x the amount, NOW”
• “Apple Bitcoin Give away, watch now”
• “200% gains with mining, just set up a node”
• “This New amazing crypto will do 100x do not miss out like you did with Bitcoin”
• “Download this X wallet and we will give you 5 BTC for free !”
• “Better, faster , cheaper than Bitcoin”