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For the first time in Cuban history, the United States dollar (USD) lost value in favor of another currency – Bitcoin. The cryptocurrency is trading at a premium to US cash.
According to Alex Gladstein, director of strategy at the Human Rights Foundation, and Enrique Yesier, a Cuban citizen, through their Twitter accounts, the historic shift in currency rates is spreading to major cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin, Ethereum and the stablecoin Tether, a digital currency that is pegged to the dollar. USA.
Due to political tensions between the United States and Cuba, the island was cut off from the international financial system and its payment systems. At the same time, this North American country has experienced one of the largest migrations of Cuban citizens.
This has created a situation where many Cubans rely on remittances sent by their families abroad, but the national methods of receiving or sending a transaction in US dollars always affect the citizen. Thus, crypto payments using bitcoins and other coins without third party intervention are more efficient in terms of fees and time.
In addition, Cubans use digital assets to protect themselves from inflation and the depreciation of their national currency. As a result, businesses and merchants have begun accepting bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies as payment methods, according to local reports.
The Cuban citizen who made a viral report that the value of bitcoins on the island exceeds the US dollar, Enrique Yesier, stated the following about this historical phenomenon:
“Complaining that in Cuba the dollar in cryptocurrency has surpassed the value of 1 dollar in cash is like complaining that today bitcoin is worth more than 46 thousand dollars, whereas a year ago it was worth 23 thousand. If someone does something wrong, it is not BTC. “
Is Bitcoin not the most valuable cryptocurrency in Cuba?
It seems that Cuba is slowly but surely moving towards wider adoption of bitcoins and cryptocurrencies. According to an AFP report, the country’s government granted merchants a license to operate these digital assets back in August.
These measures fall under regulation 215, according to a report from the Central Bank of Cuba. The new rules were approved on September 15 and are aimed at regulating the use of cryptocurrencies for commercial transactions.
As Chainalysis notes in its 2021 report, the country is still far from being ranked in terms of adoption. The ten countries with the most Bitcoin and cryptocurrency adoption have one thing in common: most of them are facing high inflationary economies or military conflict, as evidenced by the situation with Argentina, Ukraine, Venezuela, Afghanistan and other countries.
According to Yesier, Bitcoin is not the most valuable digital asset on a tropical island. This position refers to TRX. Apparently, many Cubans start their cryptocurrency journey with the TRON ecosystem.
At the time of publication, Bitcoin (BTC) is trading at $ 46,797.
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