Turbulent times in Venezuela
CoinCola, the OTC crypto exchange has partnered with the cryptocurrency Dash. They have jointly launched their offering in Latin America with the hope of the Venezuelan crypto market getting a boost.
Venezuela is facing turbulent times. Faulty economic policies of the Venezuelan government are affecting the country. Venezuelan Bolivares, i.e., the country’s currency has become almost irrelevant. A Hacker Noon report showed how hard it is. The minimum salary in the country is 2.5 million Bolivares per month. However, 1 kg. of meat costs nearly 4.5 million Bolivares. 1 lb of rice costs 1.3 million Bolivares whereas 1 lb of chicken costs about the same. The country may not see any improvement soon. A Bloomberg report quotes the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to state that the country will see 1.37 million % inflation before 2018 ends.
The runaway inflation isn’t the only challenge. Political turmoil is equally acute in the country. Government surveillance of citizens makes it harder. The rapidly falling currency and a ‘Big Brother’ state make decentralized cryptocurrencies imperative. However, that’s a tall ask. The Hackernoon report quotes a pseudonymous Venezuelan source. The state makes it hard to trade in Bitcoin, furthermore, mostly upper-class people can engage in crypto trading and mining.
There are silver linings. Electricity supply isn’t good, but it is virtually free. The government censors only a few Internet sites. This enables citizens to read up on cryptocurrencies, although the Internet infrastructure isn’t good. These two factors allow citizens to earn from crypto mining. Venezuela crypto market has already seen high demands. Unfortunately, questionable government actions affect this too. The government had launched its’ Petro cryptocurrency. Even so, it does increasingly look like a scam. The debate over government-controlled crypto will need time to settle. Meanwhile, traders in the Venezuela crypto market need help.
A Helpful Partnership
CoinCola is a HongKong-based ‘Over The Counter’ (OTC) crypto exchange. They already deal with bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), litecoin (LTC), bitcoin cash (BCH), and tether (USDT). CoinCola is the second largest OTC platform. They see an average 100,000 transactions in a month whereas 95% of transactions are from Asia.
Dash is a cryptocurrency focusing on digital payment, furthermore, eCommerce is another focus area. It’s increasingly seen as an alternative to Bitcoin. Lower fees and increasing acceptance by merchants make it quite useful. Dash has seen high growth in Latin America. Their footprint in Venezuela is impressive with 1,450 merchants accepting it there. Their recent partnership with Kripto Mobile Corporation is a case in point. Kriptos’ new mobile device KRIP will fully incorporate Dash. Latin American consumers will now have far greater access to Dash.
The CoinCola/Dash partnership looks to leverage the synergy. Dash benefits significantly from listing on the second-largest OTC. CoinCola now has the chance of expanding in a geography where Dash has a strong presence. The Venezuelan citizens will benefit the most. They now get a viable alternative currency backed by an easy trading option. CoinCola will not charge their users any fees on Dash transactions till 31st October. CoinCola will also launch Spanish versions of their Android and iOS apps.
Ryan Tailor, the CEO of Dash is excited about this partnership. He sees the value of listing on a leading OTC. Ryan is upbeat about increasing adoption of Dash in Venezuela. He can see the benefits to the Venezuela crypto market and the Venezuelan people. Allan Zhang, the CEO of CoinCola is clear about their growth potential due to this partnership. He can see the value Dash offers to Venezuelan citizens with their InstantSend technology.
