There are some very interesting events taking place in Venezuela for Hive. This is something we discussed in theory and, it appears, that country is turning it into a reality.
As covered, Hive has a great deal of potential. While other cryptocurrencies such as Cardano have initiatives as access certain areas, Hive simply does it. We have a community that takes it upon itself to get things done.
In short, the tools and provided (build) and the community runs with it.
Nowhere is this more accurate than with the Hive Backed Dollar (HBD). A great deal of attention was paid to this coin the last 18 months. We saw the emergence of the HBD Stabilizer, which uses Decentralized Hive Fund (DHF) money to provide liquidity on the internal exchange.
At the same time, the Witnesses moved the interest rate on savings to 20%. This allows for the creation of more HBD, something that is required if it is going to be a legitimate currency. There is also the return that individuals are getting which is the incentive to place the HBD there.
Of course, all of this is for naught if use cases are not built out. As we maintained consistently, there is a lot of infrastructure required to make enhance the commercial and financial utility.
Nevertheless, Venezuela is starting to spread the word.
Access To USD Through HBD
We recently had this article posted that detailed what is taking place in a town in that country. HBD and $HIVE are being accepted by merchants.
The details of what is taking place, or more importantly why, were discussed in the past. We will now show how this is becoming reality.
For those who are unaware, Venezuela is in a great deal of difficulty economically. We will not go into all that is wrong but one of the main results is the lack of stability of the national currency, the Bolivar. This makes the cost of things within the country unpredictable along with increasing prices for anything that is tied to the US dollar. Here is where local and national economies get slammed.
At the same time, we can only imagine the state of the banking system. Certainly, this industry is known for corruption globally. However, in the West, there is at least some degree of legitimacy. In many other nations, banks are akin to loan sharks. The corruption is overt, basically openly stealing people's money.
Hence it is best to avoid them if possible.
HBD does this.
Getting a hold of US dollars is difficult along with dangerous. Banks are not going to have a lot on hand. Even if they do, getting banknotes means one is at risk of getting beaten and robbed. Cash is not a great idea in this regard.
This is where HBD is providing the people of Venezuela with a solution.
In addition, the adoption of HBD boosts the digital economy by providing financial freedom by not relying on the US dollar and a physical bill at the time of payment, with this we are confident that our Hive blockchain takes a giant step towards another level in the financial arena.
HBD is providing the unit of account of the US dollar without having to actually have them. Since it is denominated in USD, it offers the same benefits for trade. Then we can add in the fact it is digital, no banknotes to deal with, and one's safety is not threatened.
For much of the last year we discussed how this was a major use case for HBD. Due to a global shortage in USD, HBD can fill the void, providing those with unstable currencies with access they otherwise would not have.
Merchants Accepting Hive Coins
In the state of Sucre, people are able to pay for lunch using HBD. Notice the transaction that we are all familiar with.
Here is what was said about the experience:
So I canceled with HBD and I tell you that the transaction from our wallet is extremely fast and most importantly it is very secure. It is faster than paying with mobile payment or point of sale, no lie it took me less than a minute to make the payment. Remember, everything is digital, you just take your device, enter your wallet, enter the address of the user receiving the payment, enter the amount, press continue, approve and that's it, payment done.
There are a few points that many take for granted.
- Once again we see secure - this is a major concern in many areas of the world
- How often do we discuss the speed of Hive? Here is an example where the pace is much faster than payment applications
- Simplicity - no character strings to enter as an address, simply put in the username and make the payment
The features cannot be overlooked. There is another piece that is very important. We are dealing with a unit of account both the customers and merchants are familiar with. The USD is global and nobody has to learn a new value for the medium of exchange. The $7.43 bill was 7.5 HBD.
A final point on this is as such:
- the transaction fee to the customer was zero - try that on another blockchain
- the merchant received full payment - there was no fee charged by the merchant services
- the transaction is settled within a couple seconds due to one block irreversibility, another feature for the merchants
Fast. Feeless. Secure.
The Future of Hive
We have a group in Venezuela who is very optimistic about Hive. In fact, here is something that many would accuse me of writing.
In #HiveSucre, we are working as one arm so that in this 2023 Hive will be the number one blockchain on the planet and as I said before, Hive Sucre came to stay and every day that passes takes more strength, because it is integrated by committed Hivers who sail together in the same direction, Hive is our mother and she we owe us.
The number one blockchain on the planet?
We spend a lot of time covering the different developments on Hive; gaming, microblogging, Podping. All of these have the potential to bring a lot of users to the ecosystem.
However, sometimes have powerful basics is crucial. The fact that we are dealing with no transaction fees is important. In many parts of the world, even 10 cents is a significant amount of money. With Hive, as long as the resource credits are there, one can transact.
What we also can stress is the fact that none of this is passive. We are the ones who determine the fate of Hive. Again, we see this exemplified by this group in Venezuela.
There are pharmacies, clinics, bakeries, restaurants, fruit and vegetable sales, betting sites, locksmiths, bakeries, bookstores, supermarkets, liquor stores, medical offices, bakeries and stop counting all the potential that the Hive blockchain has to continue growing. This is the goal and for this 2023 we are going stronger than ever. We already visited @loshijosdewasi, soon we will be visiting @ibca; later we will spend a weekend at the @buhoteltourist and we can not miss Zen Venezuela and Bodegón QQ and just as they dared, come you merchant friend, your future is here in Hive.
They are taking upon themselves to build their local economy around HBD and $HIVE. This is a vital point. The article mentioned Hive savings, as a way to earn 20% which far exceeds what the banks are paying. Another factor is the HBD will be in savings when one goes to retrieve it. The same is not always true with the banking industry.
This is Hive's forte. It will excel first in the developing world where it can address immediate and overt problems. This group in Sucre are doing their part to make things grow.
Like those in Ghana, they are even printing up t-shirts.
It is easy to miss the potential of Hive and discount it as some little blockchain that has no meaning. The reason so many fall into this category is because they fail to see the holistic nature of things.
Whether we are taking a high level approach to banking, or looking at simple payments, we see how Hive offer solutions. At the same time, we can mix in gaming and social media, the foundation for developing Web 3.0. With the absence of a foundation, venture capital funding, and no pre-mine, we can stress decentralization and how the benefits can be provided on Hive.
Here we have a case in point. With these individuals using HBD, nobody is in control of their money. They have access to basic banking services (the sending, receiving, and storing of money) through their Hive wallets.
And who is in control of that? Only the key holder.
The people in Sucre are working to make HBD and Hive a reality.
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