5 Reasons Dash Is #1 in Venezuela
Venezuela has been suffering through its worst economic and political crisis in history since 2010. The crisis has led Venezuelans to experience soaring rates of hunger, crime, emigration, disease, and hyperinflation.
The Venezuelan government and its citizens have been doing everything that they can to ease the current situation of the country. In one aspect of the government’s problems, residents have found a way to somewhat help themselves from hyperinflation.
Because of the extreme volatility of Venezuela’s fiat currency, Bolivar, the locals have turned to cryptocurrency to protect their finances from extreme inflation. As of October 2018, the inflation rate in Venezuela reached 833,997% which is the highest in the world.
The crypto that locals mostly turn to is Dash (DASH.) It may come off as a surprise to some as Dash may not even be in many websites’ top 10 crypto list. But why is Dash number one in Venezuela?
1| An Escape from Hyperinflation
Venezuela’s 833,997% hyperinflation rate came to a point where one cup of coffee is priced at 1.4 million Bolivars. The government devalued Bolivar by 96% to give more focus to the country’s government-backed crypto – Petro.
The IMF World Economic Outlook predicts that the inflation rate of the country will become worse over time. Inflation will rise to 1.3 million% by the end of 2018 and about 10 million% in 2019.
The use of Dash is considered by the Venezuelans as a solution to the hyperinflation crisis of the country. Dash became a substitute for the hyperinflationary Bolivar. The crypto features fast confirmation times and cheap transactions.
This is why Dash is highly adopted in the country according to Echeverría. He said:
“Mostly hyperinflation and the loss of confidence in our financial system which includes: Bolivar, POS networks, lack of cash. Dash represents a perfect solution to become a way better/reliable payment method and a store of value for Venezuelans”
2| More Practical Than Bitcoin
As cryptocurrencies gained popularity in Venezuela back in 2014, Bitcoin was suffering from high transaction fees and slow confirmation times.
In 2014, Bitcoin was a way for Venezuelans to rebel against their government as the Bolivar was losing its worth. The government seemed to see this as a threat as some local bitcoin miners claimed that the government was arresting miners and accusing them of money laundering and terrorism.
In addition, the electricity demand that is needed for mining was highly intense as some miners were even arrested for electricity theft. The issue with the state’s electricity demands in the midst of inflation became uncontrollable that the government needed to do something about it.
The Venezuelan government had a Bitcoin mining crackdown between March 2016 and January 2018 which delayed the growth of Bitcoin in Venezuela.
With this, the locals got into altcoins, particularly Dash. Dash became one of the most sought-after altcoins in Venezuela as it is more cost-effective than Bitcoin.
Ryan Taylor, Dash CEO, said:
“From the perspective of merchants and businesses, Bitcoin has many uses, including as a means of payment [for] online purchases and for transferring money cross-border at low cost. However, Bitcoin transactions are not instant, which means they are not useful for live transactions such as at a register or for online transactions that customers wouldn’t want to wait [for] — such as a digital media purchase. Bitcoin is also too expensive for microtransactions.”
With Venezuelans’ need for more value for their money in the times of hyperinflation, Dash was the crypto that came at the right time for the locals when it was introduced by Caracas-based exchange Cryptobuyer in August 2016.
3| More Instant and More Efficient
Unlike Bitcoin, Dash can instantly send and handle microtransactions. This opens up opportunities for Dash to be more involved in businesses around the world.
Eugenia Alcalá Sucre, Dash Venezuela founder, talked about how one merchant used Dash as a form of payment for his business transactions in three different countries.
She said:
“One belt maker was able to buy his materials in China and pay with Dash – the fastest business transaction he has ever made – and after the belts were ready he was able to sell the finished product to Honduras. He received Dash for that payment.”
4| Over 50 People Are Employed Under the Dash Organization
Dash’s rise in Venezuela is not only from the transactions between merchants and users but also from the crypto’s efforts to spread the word about using digital currencies.
Dash has established different organizations in Venezuela: Dash Merchant, Dash Youth, Dash Help, and Dash Venezuela. Dash Merchant teaches businesses to accept and use Dash. Dash Youth hosts lectures and post-lectures about crypto and the Dash network to young students in schools and universities.
Meanwhile, Dash Help is the official support center of Dash, and Dash Venezuela is the official community of Dash in the country. These organizations aim to encourage more Venezuelans to adopt Dash as a form of payment. The crypto also has over 50 workers who are paid in Dash spread over different communities.
5| Over 2,000 Merchants Openly Accept Dash Payments
Stores such as Calvin Klein, Subway, and many domestic businesses openly accept Dash as a form of payment. Dash Merchant – Venezuela tweeted:
“Calvin Klein and Polo in Caracas are now accepting Dash! A #DashMerchantVenezuela business! Location: Tolon Fashion Mall.”
Calvin Klein y Polo en Caracas aceptan Dash! Otro aliado de #DashMerchanVenezuela! Ubicacion: Tolon Fashion Mall.
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Calvin Klein and Polo in Caracas are now accepting Dash! A #DashMerchantVenezuela business! Location: Tolon Fashion Mall. pic.twitter.com/GoaFRTHGZl— Dash Merchant – Venezuela (@dashmerchant) July 24, 2018
Crypto-friendly merchants can be seen all around the country as Dash Public Outreach Director Joël Valenzuela said:
“The Dash-accepting merchants in Venezuela do so openly and proudly, displaying ‘Dash accepted here’ stickers on their business doors and registers.”
With about 2,200 merchants and counting, Venezuela holds more than 50% of the global total of Dash users. Alejandro Echeverría, Business Development Head of Dash Merchant Venezuela, said:
“The Dash cryptocurrency and community have made the biggest contribution to our country. The numbers speak for themselves.”
Since Dash noticed Venezuelans’ massive adoption to the crypto, the company concentrated on pushing the crypto to the merchants more with the use of campaigns which later on resulted for the digital currency to become number one in the country.
Dash has become the go-to cryptocurrency for Venezuelans as it is instant, efficient, and convenient in the time of the country’s hyperinflation crisis. The Dash team has also worked their way toward African countries in increasing awareness on crypto through education and the adoption of Dash. Dash has communities in Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Ghana, South Africa, and Morocco.
