“Wefinallygottoeatchicken”Corderosaid.“And
therewerealsovegetablesforthekids.”
Thethree-monthtrialincryptotransfersis now
over,andthefamilyis backtoskippingmeals
andeatingmostlybeansandrice.ButCorderois
thankfulforthetimethatdigitalcurrencysaved
herkidsfrommalnutrition.
“I’mverygratefulforwhattheydidfor
us”Corderosaid.“Itwouldbea blessingif
somethinglikethatweresetupagain.”
Overthepastdecade,cryptocurrencieslike
EOSandbitcoinhavebecomepopularamong
investorslookingtomakelargeprofitsfroma
newandanonymousformofstoringwealth.
Buta handfulofcharitiesarealsonowusing
digitalcurrenciestosendreliefdirectlytothose
inneed,circumventingbanksandcompanies
thathandleremittances.They’vefoundtheideal
testinggroundinVenezuela,wheretheannual
inflationratebysomeestimateshassoared
toa staggering67,000%,forcingmillionsto
scavengedailytofeedthemselves.
“Cryptohasthehighestlikelihoodofbeing
helpfultopeopleinplaceswheremoneyis
broken”saidJoeWaltman,executivedirector
ofGiveCrypto,thecharitythatprovided
directtransferstoCorderoandmorethan 100
VenezuelanfamiliesinBarquisimetowiththeaid
ofEOSVenezuela,a localblockchaindeveloper.
“Andthere’sprobablynobetterexampleof
brokenmoneyrightnowthanVenezuela.”
GiveCrypto’sprogramprovidedtemporaryhelp
tovulnerablefamiliesbyprovidingthemwitha
weeklydepositwortharound$7—oraboutthe
sameasVenezuela’smonthlyminimumwage.
Image: Carlos Garcia Rawlins