Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past six months, Venezuela’s economy is in absolute disarray and the government isn’t doing much better. Nicolas Maduro – the president of Venezuela – has created the Petro, a state-backed cryptocurrency. On top of this, he is encouraging all Venezuelans to begin using it immediately. However, international critics have been quick to identify the flaws with the cryptocurrency, picking it apart piece by piece.
Maduro and the government have been against every crypto that isn’t the Petro in a bid to get it off the ground, but even that isn’t working. In a show of defiance, locals have been using Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, and Dash as a way to survive in the country and now the country’s biggest department store has joined the movement. It published the announcement via its Twitter page a few weeks ago.
Ahora puedes realizar tus pagos en nuestras tiendas con criptomonedas ¡Te esperamos! pic.twitter.com/3eBQsEnOHX
— Traki (@TRAKIenganchate) 5 October 2018
Traki Helping Push Mass Adoption
Traki – the largest department store chain in Venezuela – has started accepting a basket of cryptocurrencies for its goods across all 50 of its stores in the country. You can find virtually anything in the shop, ranging from household items and groceries to the latest fashion, footwear, and furniture often at bargain prices.
The chain is famous for its mega 50% off fire sales and shop-till-you-drop atmosphere. Best of all, you don’t need a wheelbarrow full of cash when you get to the till to pay for your new outfit – you can simply tap your crypto wallet and head home with your new haul.
DASH Standing Out
Dash has quickly become a favorite of the Venezuelan people thanks to its speedy transaction time and low cost. In fact, the Dash Foundation has contributed thousands of dollars to help build the necessary infrastructure in the country to allow vendors to accept Dash and escape the tyranny of hyperinflation. Dash is one of the cryptos that Traki will let shoppers use at the tills, and it’s likely to become a very popular payment method in the store.
No Avenue for Shopping Abroad
Unfortunately, for many Venezuelans shopping overseas is now a thing of the past. Maduro has changed the laws on passport sales and renewals meaning that the fees can only be paid using the Petro – a crypto that’s proven very hard to get hold of. Plus, anyone who buys the Petro will quickly be marked as a person funding terrorism and will likely be detained at any airport they land at. This means that Venezuelans don’t have much choice when it comes to shopping – best to be safe and stick to shopping at Traki.
The situation is becoming dangerous in Venezuela, and there is a good chance it’s not going to end any time soon. While Maduro is trying to save his people, he is going about it the wrong way – with disastrous results likely to occur.
