This is an opinion editorial by Michael Markle, a member of the San Juan BitDevs meetup.
Puerto Rico has seen it all, from currency devaluations, confiscation of wealth, natural disasters, colonizers and fights for independence, all in less than 100 years. Before that, Pedro Albizu Campos fought for Puerto Rico to have its own identity, its own independence and its own sovereignty.
But now the world has a decentralized money that can provide Puerto Rico with the independence and identity that it has been starved for and deserves.
The History Of Currency In Puerto Rico
In 1889, Puerto Rico suffered a 40% currency devaluation, crippling the Puerto Rican economy. This was caused by the United States setting up the American Colonial Bank and declaring the U.S. dollar as legal tender (the official money) of Puerto Rico, changing it from the peso.
However, in 1899, one peso was only worth 60 cents, meaning the local businesses of Puerto Rico and its citizens lost 40% of their net worths overnight from causes totally outside of their control. This resulted in Puerto Ricans, attempting to save their net worths, borrowing money from the American Colonial Bank. However, high interest rates made it very unlikely that locals were going to be able to pay back their loans, causing many Puerto Ricans to default on their debt. The result was that the bank seized their assets (in these days, typically their land).
