Due to the deteriorating value of Venezuela’s fiat currency, the Bolivar Sovereign, a major department store in the country is now accepting payment in selected cryptocurrencies. Through its social media pages, Trakis announced that it will be accepting payments in Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Bitcoin Core (BTC), Dash (DASH), Ethereum (ETH) and litecoin (LTC).
Could Trakis’ announcement spark a ripple effect?
The move by the giant retailer is likely to spark a mass adoption of cryptos in the nation facing economic distress. Trakis has been in business for over three decades and operates forty nine branches across the country. Hopefully the leading department store in the nation through experience knows how to cope during tough economic times.
The state of inflation in Venezuela
The International Monetary Fund speculates that the hyperinflation rate in Venezuela is likely to reach one million percent by the end of the year. Citizens are already fleeing the distressed nation in search of greener pastures, or just some food, for neighboring countries. The crypto community believes that cryptocurrency adoption would save the country’s economy from plummeting further.
Petro
The government in its bid to save the economy launched a state-backed cryptocurrency dubbed the Petro. The cryptocurrency is supposedly backed by the nation’s oil reserves. The US in its bid to frustrate Venezuela in line with its economic sanctions towards the country restricted its citizens from trading in Petro.
However, the Venezuelan government announced that it was planning to convince the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to adopt petro as the organization’s official digital asset. Good luck with that.
Testimonials
The Petro has not gained support outside or within the nation, which is the reason Trakis did not list it alongside the cryptos it accepts for payment. The news about Trakis’ announcement was confirmed by a Reddit User who posted a video purchasing about 900 items at a Trakis store for about $260 worth of Bitcoins donated through the Reddit platform.
The items intended for needy school children included school supplies and cloths. Previously, another Reddit user gave testimony on how he used NANO donations from the platform to feed his community. By then NANO coins were trading at $2.71 each.
