Venezuela: Monetary Crisis Triggers Adoption of Cryptocurrencies

In recent years, the news has put a fairly substantial emphasis on the monetary crisis in Venezuela. The money that the Venezuelan State issues loses value at an unprecedented speed. This inevitably generates poverty and suffering, according to numerous analysts. A currency that loses value on a daily basis does not serve to be transacted very well among citizens. Inevitably, as one of Bitcoin’s biggest Evangelists Andreas Antonopoulos has preached for many years, the poorest countries where money no longer has value, will see in Crypto an oasis. According to him, these countries will boost Crypto as it is seeing an eminent explosion of use in Venezuela.

Obviously, this is not pleasing the authorities. In June, it was communicated in the news how the Telecommunications and Internet Services company of the Venezuelan State, Cantv, blocked Internet customers who were using Crypto. Even two Venezuelan Exchanges were temporarily closed. They even tried to block the services of Dash Venezuela.

The use of cryptocurrencies in the hurting country has not stopped despite all the state repression. There are reports of NGOs providing food to children through funds denominated in Dash, such as the Sin Tabú Foundation. Other NGOs that help vulnerable families and people in need use Bitcoin and Dash as well. On the other hand, the use that has attracted the most attention internationally, has been in the form of salaries and the use in public commerce. Several foreign franchises, hotels, restaurants and commerce often display signs that say, “SE ACEPTA DASH” (DASH IS ACCEPTED) or, in some cases, even Bitcoin is accepted.

In November of this year, a news outlet advertised that Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) would accept DASH in their restaurants. However, this did not end up becoming reality. The franchise denied the news last minute as they said that for now they cannot accept Crypto. However, there are other franchises that do accept Crypto, for example the food franchises Papa John’s, Subway and Church’s Chicken. They actually do accept DASH.

The media in Venezuela and some non-Venezuelan outlets in the previous months verified that conversations were indeed taking place between the Dash team and the directors of the KFC franchise. So news of the possible agreement between KFC and DASH was not completely unjustified. There were negotiations conducted, however to this date no commercial agreement has been made.

In the case of Church’s Chicken, it has even been published that there was an agreement between the franchise and Dash Venezuela according to which DASH will directly support the Church’s Chicken establishments to use its technology. Likewise, a training process is being conducted to restaurant staff so that they can transact with DASH in their businesses efficiently and safely. According to DASH, the restaurants are also offering special campaigns.

Those in charge of franchises like Papa John’s, Subway and Church’s Chicken, seem to agree on one fundamental characteristic: cryptocurrencies are a very efficient and safe type of money, but they require a diligent and meticulous process of training for all employees and administrative staff of the restaurants. Not many people know about virtual currencies, so they have to be very carefully educated.

There is a case worth exposing. It’s about the use of Crypto in tourism. Evidence has been presented to the media that tourist agencies run by the Venezuelan government – even after the direct attacks on Bitcoin and Altcoins of June 2018 – are now accepting cryptocurrencies as a form of payment. It is said that there is evidence on at least two state agencies: VisitaVargas and Altura’s Club. These agencies have processed payments for hotel services, transportation and other fees in cryptocurrencies. It has also been said that they are using DASH, Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Venezuela has become a focus of global interest for all those people interested in Crypto. Many crypto enthusiasts and professionals see the case of Venezuela as a wonderful experiment that is allowing Crypto to serve in the daily life of a real society. Even scientists quote Antonopoulos who has always predicted that cryptocurrencies would take more strength in relatively poor countries. For Venezuelans, however, cryptocurrencies can become a hope. They simply want to work and receive their salary in a valid and safe currency. One can even imagine that countries in crisis could perhaps become great financial leaders of the future thanks to this early adoption of Crypto.

Do you think something like this could be possible if Venezuela and similar countries adopted blockchain?

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