Cryptocurrency: Cubans Route Around Sanctions

grarpamp grarpamp at gmail.com
Wed May 11 22:43:32 PDT 2022


Among handful of other small countries going crypto...

100,000 Cubans Are Using Bitcoin In Response To US Sanctions

https://bitcoinmagazine.com/business/100000-cubans-are-using-bitcoin-in-response-to-us-sanctions
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/.amp/culture/cubas-bitcoin-revolution
http://cubastudygroup.org/about-us/mission-beliefs-approach/
https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/cuba-approves-cryptocurrency-services-requires-central-bank-license-2022-04-27/
https://www.nbcnews.com/now/video/cubans-turn-to-cryptocurrency-amid-heavy-u-s-sanctions-139124805728

    A report from NBC states over 100,000 Cubans are using bitcoin and
other cryptocurrencies.

    The adoption of cryptocurrencies was driven largely by mobile
internet access which was only provided to Cubans three years ago.

    The need for sovereign monetary technology spawns from sanctions
placed against Cuba preventing the use of international standards of
money.

Cuba is embracing bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in response to
burdensome U.S. sanctions, according to a report from NBC News.

There are reportedly 100,000 Cubans currently using cryptocurrencies
which is largely thanks to the introduction of mobile internet access
that was only provided three years ago. One particular cafe owner
named Nelson Rodriguez was interviewed by NBC due to his acceptance of
bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

In explaining what made Rodriguez decide to accept a new form of
payment he stated “I like crypto because I believe in the philosophy.”

The philosophy Rodriguez is likely referring to is the idea that money
should be sovereign, meaning that it should belong to those who have
earned it, and also that money should not intentionally devalue over
time. These particular ideals have clashed with both the local
government of Cuba, and international sanctions often placed by
countries such as the U.S. on Cuba.

PayPal, Revolut, Zelle and many other forms of internationally
accepted forms of credit or debit cannot be used by Cubans due to
sanctions banning the services. Many institutions such as JP Morgan
and Deutsche Bank have reportedly faced multi-million dollar fines for
providing services to Cubans.

On April 27, Reuters reported that Cuba was approving cryptocurrency
service providers, pending the receipt of a license from the central
bank. A teacher at Colombia's Pontificia Universidad Javeriana Cali
and former Cuban central bank economist, Pavel Vidal, reportedly
stated:

    "If the central bank is creating a cryptocurrency-friendly legal
framework, it is because they have already decided that it can bring
benefits to the country.”

Alex Gladstein, CSO for the Human Rights Foundation, wrote an article
discussing many of the challenges the people of Cuba have endured.
During the writing of said article, Gladstein interviewed a son of
Cuban exiles and the executive director of the Cuba Study Group,
Ricardo Herrero, to discuss the economic impact of sanctions for the
Cuban people.

Herrero referred to the embargo placed on Cuba as “the most rigid and
expansive sanctions regime towards any society on the planet.”

Cubans are now taking monetary ownership into their own hands.


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