Proof that we need BTC? The Western Union is leaving Afghanistan at its worst

The payment company Western Union decided to leave Afghanistan for at least some time last week. Was forced to do so by the deteriorating political situation in the war-torn country, over which the Taliban again took power. According to Anthony Pompliano, this is clear evidence that the world really needs Bitcoin.

The Western Union played an important role for the Afghan people. It mediated to millions of people the money (transfers) sent to them by their relatives from abroad. This thread was now cut at the worst possible moment – at a time when the Taliban was coming, when Afghans needed more money than ever before. According to estimates about $ 800 million came to Afghanistan each year through remittances, or about 4% of the country’s GDP.

The well-known BTC bull Anthony Pompliano significantly criticized the decision of the Western Union. “At a time when literally millions of people needed it, they withdrew. They stopped supporting them,” he said angrily. Pompliano also advised people to run away from such “old” companies as soon as possible.

In a CNBC session, Pompliano was subsequently asked when Western Union companies could lose their significant market share. For example, thanks to BTC, which can be a useful tool for sending remittances. For example, he sees the huge potential of El Salvador, a country in which BTC will become legal tender from September 7.

Pompliano said he could not estimate the time frame in which this would happen, but stressed that BTC, in conjunction with Lightning Network technology, would allow the immediate transfer of small amounts worldwide at virtually zero transaction costs. This makes it better than Western Union because it saves people brokerage fees and is much faster (El Salvador alone is estimated to pay around $ 400 million a year in remittance fees).

“When you look at something like BTC, it allows anyone to send pennies via the Lightning Network, literally pennies, anywhere in the world, virtually free and with instant billing.” said.

Pompliano added that BTC is an uncensored and unchanging technology that does not leave people.

So can BTC be a tool for freer money transfers in the future, where the population will no longer be dependent on Western Union-type intermediaries? It is possible. Its use in El Salvador, where infrastructure is already being built that could eliminate the high costs of remittances, suggests a lot.