Dash has been a popular choice for Venezuelans that want to escape from a broken fiat system. But it looks like they won’t be able to buy Kentucky Fried Chicken with Dash, at least not yet.
Antonio Sampayo is the CEO of KFC Venezuela, and he recently commented that KFC Venezuela has been in discussions with Dash. According to the CEO, so far, no agreement has been concluded. He went on to say that, a collaboration between KFC Venezuela and Dash, “is not a fact, nor has the publication of any news about it been authorized.”
The comments from Mr. Sampayo come on the heels of a tweet that originated at DashNews. Mark Mason tweeted that KFC Venezuela would be accepting Dash in the near future, beginning in Caracas, and then expanding to 24 other locations across Venezuela.
Numerous other Venezuelan businesses have been turning to cryptos, and Dash is currently accepted at 2,400 businesses. Major food sellers like Papa Johns and Subway are accepting Dash in Venezuela, which could be a sign of things to come.
Venezuelan Economic Policy is Perfect for Cryptos
Venezuela is in bad shape. The Venezuelan government has made a series of terrible economic decisions. Today few people in Venezuela trust the newly-revalued Bolivar Furete (strong Bolivar), and the use of cryptocurrencies is exploding in the South American nation.
Ironically, the Bolivar Fuerte is tied to the value of the Petro, which is the state-sponsored crypto of Venezuela. The Petro is allegedly tied to the value of Venezuelan oil reserves, but no one is willing to accept Petros for anything.
The Venezuelan government has made Petro use mandatory for some things, in an attempt to justify the existence of its attempt at even more financial graft. The Petro is the latest development in a long line of terrible economic decisions, all of which started under the now-dead former-president, Hugo Chavez.
Dash Could Pull Ahead of Dollars
Terrible economic policy and worthless currencies are somewhat normal in South America, but today it looks like cryptos are taking over the role of foreign currencies. There is even a Dash-enabled phone that is specifically designed to make Dash payments a snap, which has been selling well in Venezuela.
The Dash-enabled KRIP is a collaboration between Dash and Kripto Mobile Corporation. More than 7,000 KRIP phones have been sold in Venezuela since its introduction. It features a built-in Dash wallet, as well some Dash in a paper wallet, and integrated exchange options.
Unfortunately, for many Venezuelans, a KRIP phone is just too expensive.
The grinding poverty that exists all over Venezuela has resulted in the development of Dash Text. Just about any phone can use Dash Text, which has opened up the use of cryptos to an entirely new demographic.
Alejandro Echeverría helped create Dash Text. He explained that, “In % (percentage) rate, rural has almost 100% of Dash Text wallet (natural reasons). But in the city the rate has been very high since people have noticed that using Dash Text is easier than using the normal smartphone wallet (no downloads/ internet required) and since our POS from Dash merchant already has the Dash text feature it is very convenient to use Dash Text for everything.”
The Failures of Fiat
Today most people aren’t familiar with the problems that are associated with fiat currencies. The US Dollar, Pound Sterling, Japanese Yen and Euro have been stable since at least the 1980s. This puts many in a tricky spot when it comes to understanding the kinds of currency problems that can emerge as a result of a reckless economic policy.
The population of Venezuela is dealing with the fallout from less than 20 years of Socialist-based planning, wild corruption in a government that is facing falling revenues, and international isolation. Their attempts to control the Venezuelan economy via misguided policies have left the majority of the population facing shortages of the most basic social services, and few viable alternatives.
A Better Alternative
It is telling that cryptos are being used in the absence of reliable options.
In fact, cryptos offer advantages to the Venezuelan population that foreign currency doesn’t. Unlike paper money from abroad, Dash can be used within the country without worry of being discovered and traded over the existing telecom network.
Today Venezuelans are dealing with a failed economy and a government that won’t stop antagonizing an already suffering population. Thankfully they have cryptos to create value, and trade in the absence of sane economic policy.
