The organization is also aiming to make people
familiar with crypto apps so they can transfer
their own earnings into digital currency and use
it to buy goods, long after they have stopped
receiving free deposits.
“We want to show that people who are not
techies or investors can also benefit from this
technology,” said Efrain Pineda, the project’s
manager and head of operations at EOS
Venezuela. “Anyone can use crypto to protect
themselves from inflation and make their daily
life easier.”
While many middle-class Venezuelans already
try to protect their savings from hyperinflation
by purchasing U.S. dollars and even gold
nuggets, saving in crypto offers a solution to
store wealth that may be physically safer than
holding on to cash or precious metals in a crime-
infested country. Online platforms that allow
Venezuelans to buy and hold U.S. dollars provide
a similar service.
Storing cryptocurrency presents greater financial
risks than holding U.S. dollars, though, due to the
wild swings in the value of some crypto assets,
including bitcoin. But in Venezuela, where the
local bolivar currency has lost two-thirds of its
value this year, some merchants are willing to
give this technology a shot.
In Barquisimeto, Leticia Luque, an informal
merchant, said she began to accept crypto
payments two months ago at the request
of a social worker collaborating with
GiveCrypto’s direct transfer scheme. She said
the technology has helped her gain time to
barter for better prices with suppliers and plan
what she will buy next.