If you're a freelancer or a remote worker from the global south, you likely have a harder time getting paid and participating in the global economy.

Maybe a global payments company doesn't operate in your country. Maybe they banned your account or froze your funds.

Remote workers and freelancers from emerging markets often have to jump through hoops to get paid, incurring additional costs along the way.

Meanwhile, more people than ever are working online, and more of these workers are coming from the developing world. Yet the global payments system is often failing the very people who rely on it the most.

Are stablecoins the solution?

This episode of Money Trails is presented by Stellar Development Foundation.

Watch the full episode on YouTube.

00:00 - The global payments system is broken
01:34 - Freelancing and remote work payment issues
03:38 - Why does this happen? De-risking
04:29 - 1.2 billion people are reaching working age in emerging markets
05:15 - Stablecoins to the rescue?
07:09 - There is a tax on the global south
09:03 - Next episode, we head to Lagos, Nigeria

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Bolivia is facing a severe economic crisis. The country is literally running out of dollars. Their foreign reserves have collapsed from $15 billion a decade ago to just $50 million today.

In June 2024, Bolivia legalized cryptocurrencies, and digital asset transaction volume exploded - growing over 500 percent in the past year.

To participate in the global economy, businesses are turning to stablecoins for access to dollar assets.

From Binance peer-to-peer trading to stablecoin-powered credit cards, we explore how people survive when their country runs out of dollars, and how stablecoins are being used for global spending.

Watch the full episode on YouTube.

00:00 - Bolivia ran out of dollars
02:06 - Stablecoins to the rescue
03:25 - How did Bolivia get here?
04:11 - Bolivia's parallel economy
06:24 - Meru
09:55 - What happens when a country runs out of dollars

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Argentina's decades-long economic crises and hyperinflation has a major impact on how Argentine's participate in the economy.

The recent story that's been told about Argentina is that people are adopting stablecoins to protect against inflation and currency devaluation. But that's only part of the story...

The real story involves long-standing distrust of government and the banks, and overbearing taxes that drive Argentinians to the informal economy.

While stablecoin volumes in Argentina surpass $90 billion, Argentina still has over $200 billion in cash circulating in the country, and hidden under mattresses. It's the second-largest holder of US Dollar cash, behind the US itself.

In this episode of Money Trails, presented by @StellarDevelopmentFoundation , we explore why Argentines keep their money outside of the formal system, and why they are increasingly adopting stablecoins.

In this episode, we’re joined by Manuel Beaudroit, the Co-founder & CEO of Belo.

Watch the full episode on YouTube.

00:00 - Argentina's economic crisis
01:45 - Arbolitos on Calle Florida
02:48 - The Blue Dollar
04:01 - Distrust and taxes
07:20 - Why Argentines keep their money outside the formal economy
09:50 - Why Argentina's parallel economy still thrives
10:43 - Cuevas, Argentina's informal exchange houses
13:21 - Why Argentines are adopting stablecoins
15:43 - Subscribe!

Our Links -
🎥 YouTube - https://youtube.com/@thefliphq
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💻 Website - https://theflip.africa