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Venezuelan leader suggests Bitcoin as national reserve asset

Venezuelan leader suggests Bitcoin as national reserve asset

GrafaGrafa2024/09/06 04:55
By:Liezl Gambe

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has proposed adopting Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) as a national reserve asset, drawing parallels to former U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent call for a national Bitcoin stockpile. 

In a statement on Thursday, Machado emphasised Bitcoin’s potential role in helping Venezuela recover from its ongoing economic crisis. 

During an interview with Alex Gladstein, Chief Strategy Officer of the Human Rights Foundation, Machado discussed how Bitcoin could help stabilise Venezuela’s economy, which has been devastated by years of financial mismanagement under former President Hugo Chávez and current President Nicolás Maduro. 

She described the impact on the Venezuelan Bolívar, which has lost significant value, noting that the currency’s devaluation has erased 14 zeros in recent years. 

Once valued at 3 to 4 units per U.S. dollar, the Bolívar now struggles with hyperinflation that has reached 1,700,000%. 

Since 2016, inflation has reportedly exceeded 8,000,000%, causing millions of Venezuelans to flee in search of economic stability. 

Machado argued that despite Venezuela's vast natural oil reserves, mismanagement and unchecked money printing have led to severe financial repression. 

She highlighted that many Venezuelans have turned to Bitcoin to protect their wealth during these challenging times, viewing it as a vital tool for economic survival. 

Machado called Bitcoin a “lifeline” and an essential element for building a “new democratic Venezuela” where property rights and wealth protection are prioritised. 

Machado further noted that Bitcoin donations cannot be seized by the state, making the cryptocurrency an essential component of her strategy for a peaceful transition in Venezuela. 

She advocates for using Bitcoin’s technology to foster change and rebuild the nation’s economy. 

While her proposal is not directly modeled after Trump’s idea, the similarities are evident. 

Trump has suggested that a national Bitcoin reserve could be a strategic asset for addressing the U.S. national debt, currently at $35 trillion. 

Machado’s plan similarly positions Bitcoin as a safeguard and a tool for economic resilience.

At the time of writing, the Bitcoin (BTC) price was $56,744.91.

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