Currently chilling at a cafe at midnight in some Red Sea coastal town five hours south of Cairo.

A doctor from Syria recognizes me and comes to talk. He is briefly here in Egypt but works in Syria treating people.

He and his colleagues use the informal Hawala system to move money for legitimate purposes, because Syria is sanctioned by the US. The Hawala system is ancient, stretching back to the medieval Silk Road and prior, but is still used today in many regions. He’s a fan of Bitcoin obviously.

So many people in the developed world take money for granted. But people in developing regions or conflict regions often have a better appreciation of permissionless money, undebaseable money, etc.