{"id":218764,"date":"2021-04-04T16:07:00","date_gmt":"2021-04-04T13:07:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/exploring-venezuelas-crypto-ecosystem-since-the-start-of-the-pandemic\/"},"modified":"2021-04-04T16:07:00","modified_gmt":"2021-04-04T13:07:00","slug":"exploring-venezuelas-crypto-ecosystem-since-the-start-of-the-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/exploring-venezuelas-crypto-ecosystem-since-the-start-of-the-pandemic\/","title":{"rendered":"# Exploring Venezuela\u2019s crypto ecosystem since the start of the pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a4e36b48fad8\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a4e36b48fad8\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/exploring-venezuelas-crypto-ecosystem-since-the-start-of-the-pandemic\/#New_regulations\" >New regulations<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/exploring-venezuelas-crypto-ecosystem-since-the-start-of-the-pandemic\/#Record_number_of_bolivars_locked_up_in_Bitcoin\" >Record number of bolivars locked up in Bitcoin<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/exploring-venezuelas-crypto-ecosystem-since-the-start-of-the-pandemic\/#Opinions_within_the_ecosystem\" >Opinions within the ecosystem<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong># Exploring Venezuela\u2019s crypto ecosystem since the start of the pandemic <\/strong>&#8221;<br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.cointelegraph.com\/images\/840_aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy5jb2ludGVsZWdyYXBoLmNvbS91cGxvYWRzLzIwMjEtMDQvZmJiYmI5MzUtNWNhYy00NTNmLWE3YzctNjQzNmFlNWIzY2NmLmpwZw==.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"post-content\" data-v-5a136f3a>In the year since the COVID-19 pandemic first disrupted almost every aspect of our lives, many things have h<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ened within the crypto ecosystem around the world. So, what has the past year been like for crypto in Venezuela?<\/p>\n<p>Even before 2020, Venezuela already had a number of businesses that accepted various cryptocurrencies as payment; however, considerably more have moved to adopt this form of payment over the past year. This includes everything from the hotel sector to famous pizza chain Pizza Hut announcing that it will accept Bitcoin (BTC), Litecoin (LTC), Dash and other cryptocurrencies as a form of payment.<\/p>\n<p>Halfway through 2020, crypto exchange Cryptobuyer and payments processor Mega Soft announced that they would form an alliance to allow some 20,000 merchants that use their services to accept payments in crypto through the Cryptobuyer Pay solution developed by the exchange.<\/p>\n<p>Another important landmark was in September 2020 when a Bitcoin node was connected to Blockstream\u2019s satellite network \u2014 a first for Venezuela. The result of a joint effort between Cryptobuyer and crypto education provider AnibalCripto, the node was launched despite the logistical limitations imposed by COVID-19-related lockdown measures. Likewise, those responsible for the node announced that this was the first step toward building a mesh network that would be able to process Bitcoin transactions without the need for an internet connection.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"New_regulations\"><\/span>New regulations<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Despite the ongoing economic <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/05\/17\/world\/americas\/venezuela-economy.html\">crisis<\/a> in Venezuela, the crypto mining industry has been growing. According to the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index, Venezuela <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cbeci.org\/mining_map\">contributes<\/a> the most to the Bitcoin hash rate out of any nation in Latin America, which means that there is a substantial amount of computing power being generated in the country.<\/p>\n<p>However, Venezuela introduced a new piece of legislation in September 2020 targeted at the country\u2019s mining industry. In addition to the creation of an obligatory registry and the establishment of new taxes for those who work in mining-related sectors, the new law introduced the controversial \u201cPool de Miner\u00eda Digital Nacional\u201d (National Digital Mining Pool). Under this new requirement, it will be obligatory for miners to contribute their hashing power to a new, state-backed mining pool. <\/p>\n<p>Overall, there is still no real clarity regarding the mining pool, which means that the way in which the law will be enforced is not really known, and it has not yet been revealed exactly how Venezuelan miners will have to participate.<\/p>\n<p>Although it may seem paradoxical to see such a level of support for cryptocurrencies from a government that is often seen as being quite restrictive of its citizens and their freedoms, the past year has seen several crypto experiments, including plans to allow Venezuelans to pay for passports with Bitcoin using payments processor BTCPayServer.<\/p>\n<p>However, even though the administration of President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro did not end up implementing the passport plan, its vision for the use of crypto did not diminish. For example, Maduro proposed an anti-sanctions bill in September 2020, seeking to use cryptocurrencies to evade the various sanctions imposed on the country and hoping to boost crypto use in various business operations.<\/p>\n<p>More specifically, there were reports that Maduro\u2019s administration was using Bitcoin to <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/runrun.es\/rr-es-plus\/430245\/maduro-recurre-a-las-criptomonedas-para-mitigar-sanciones-de-ee-uu\/\">facilitate<\/a> trade between Iran and Turkey, two of the current main geopolitical allies of the state.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Related:\u00a0 A year into the pandemic: How Argentina&#8217;s economy struggled while its crypto ecosystem flourished<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It was also reported in November 2020 that the Venezuelan Army decided to open the Centro de Producci\u00f3n de Activos Digitales del Ej\u00e9rcito Bolivariano de Venezuela (Digital Assets Production Center of the Venezuelan Army), a center that houses ASIC mining equipment designed for proof-of-work cryptocurrencies in order to generate \u201cunblockable\u201d financial income, according to the military leaders who inaugurated the facility.<\/p>\n<p>All this progress made on the part of the Venezuelan state in the crypto ecosystem has been to seek solutions to get around the sanctions that the United States has imposed on Maduro, his cabinet and high-ranking military officials.<\/p>\n<p>However, U.S. authorities have declared that they are monitoring Venezuela\u2019s cryptocurrency operations, and in June 2020, they even added its cryptocurrency superintendent \u2014 the highest authority on the regulation of the crypto ecosystem in Venezuela \u2014 to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement\u2019s Most Wanted List.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Record_number_of_bolivars_locked_up_in_Bitcoin\"><\/span>Record number of bolivars locked up in Bitcoin<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The bullish surge of Bitcoin\u2019s price has been coupled with the rapid devaluation of Venezuela\u2019s fiat currency, which has resulted in a record number of bolivars being traded in for Bitcoin. In the first week of December 2020 alone, peer-to-peer exchange LocalBitcoins saw 5.85 billion bolivars <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/coin.dance\/volume\/localbitcoins\/VES\">exchanged<\/a> on the platform. By the first week of February, this number had jumped to 8.56 billion bolivars.<\/p>\n<p>The complicated political and economic situation in Venezuela has led the government to consider alternative solutions. In the midst of this scenario, blockchain <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a> and cryptocurrencies, in particular, have been brought to the fore.<\/p>\n<p>Maduro is not the only one who sees cryptocurrency as a way out of troubled waters. One of his main opponents, Juan Guaid\u00f3 \u2014 who is president of the National Assembly and recognized as Venezuela\u2019s legitimate president by some 60 countries \u2014 has used the stablecoin USD Coin (USDC) to evade financial restrictions imposed by the Maduro administration in order to send humanitarian aid to Venezuelans.<\/p>\n<p>The funds used by Guaid\u00f3 came from assets that were seized by U.S. authorities from the U.S.-based bank accounts of Venezuelan state companies and various members of Maduro\u2019s administration.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Opinions_within_the_ecosystem\"><\/span>Opinions within the ecosystem<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>To understand better what it felt like on the ground within the crypto ecosystem in Venezuela, <em>Cointelegraph en Espa\u00f1ol<\/em> spoke with some of the main actors who were involved in the various events that set the tone during the past year.<\/p>\n<p>Jorge Farias, CEO of Cryptobuyer, opined to <em>Cointelegraph en Espa\u00f1ol<\/em> that the use and adoption of crypto as a form of payment in Venezuela is becoming a reality: \u201cThe global and local situation has made it so that thanks to the pandemic, businesses and individuals are looking for payment alternatives that do not require the interaction or physical presence of people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ernesto Contreras, head of business development at Dash Core Group, mentioned that Dash\u2019s plans to expand to national chains was halted due to the spread of the pandemic. Additionally, during the lockdown period, \u201cWe saw how delivery offers grew, which work in a 100% digital environment, and several services like Dingo, Piido and others have joined in accepting Dash and cryptos.\u201d He added further:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cDespite the immense difficulties that the Coronavirus has brought, the crypto ecosystem continued to reach great milestones in Venezuela during 2020, and this added to a global environment that is increasingly digital, and with a positive trend for cryptocurrencies in the world, has opened more doors of great importance for the growth, adoption and use of Dash and cryptos.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Javier Bastardo, host of the <em>Satoshi en Venezuela<\/em> podcast, told <em>Cointelegraph en Espa\u00f1ol<\/em> that \u201cVenezuela continues to be one of the most active p2p exchange markets.\u201d However, he believes that the trend has not reached its peak just yet. Moreover, he believes that FOMO \u2014 the fear of missing out \u2014 is not influencing the situation as much as in 2017 and that a steady inflow of people who heard about cryptocurrencies in the past are only now opting to enter the market. He also added that another factor that has dominated the past year has been the willingness to start paying directly in crypto, which ultimately delivers a sustained level of adoption.<\/p>\n<p>Anibal Garrido, CEO AnibalCripto, told <em>Cointelegraph en Espa\u00f1ol<\/em> that \u201cVenezuela has been part of important contributions to the development of the ecosystem.\u201d He further added that:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cThe difficult situation of COVID-19 has left us with a great learning experience: NOT to depend on physical presence for the harmonious development of our society.\u201d <\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>He added that the local mining law sets a precedent for other countries to evaluate and consider. He also mentioned the incorporation of crypto payments in retail chains along with the developments in providing fast, secure fiat-to-crypto exchange processes.<\/p>\n<p>Mariangel Garcia, community manager for Binance Spanish, believes that \u201cVenezuelans were shaken out of our comfort zone, businesses were forced to start a digital transformation and now many users can see how options abound that before this situation did not exist.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She further told <em>Cointelegraph en Espa\u00f1ol<\/em> that this translated into the widespread adoption of Binance\u2019s native cryptocurrencies in the country, as well as a surge in demand for its peer-to-peer platform. For Garcia, this means that \u201cThousands of Venezuelans have found financial freedom in our products without limitations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She concluded by saying that: \u201cVenezuela is the only country in Latin America with an inclusive vision towards the adoption of cryptos, which is a good start.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Jorge Farias, CEO of Cryptobuyer, sadly <\/em><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.cryptobuyer.io\/en\/comunicado-oficial-del-equipo-cryptobuyer\/\"><em>passed away<\/em><\/a><em> shortly after the interview.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/general\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">General category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/news\/exploring-venezuela-s-crypto-ecosystem-since-the-start-of-the-pandemic\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;# Exploring Venezuela\u2019s crypto ecosystem since the start of the pandemic &#8221; In the year since the COVID-19 pandemic first disrupted almost every aspect of our lives, many things have happened within the crypto ecosystem around the world. So, what has the past year been like for crypto in Venezuela? Even before 2020, Venezuela already&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":218765,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/images.cointelegraph.com\/images\/1200_aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy5jb2ludGVsZWdyYXBoLmNvbS91cGxvYWRzLzIwMjEtMDQvZmJiYmI5MzUtNWNhYy00NTNmLWE3YzctNjQzNmFlNWIzY2NmLmpwZw==.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[74862,74894,74355,117,70934,72916],"class_list":["post-218764","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-bitcoin","tag-blockchain","tag-adoption","tag-business","tag-regulation","tag-venezuela"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218764","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=218764"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218764\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/218765"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=218764"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=218764"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=218764"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}