By
Godfrey Benjamin
September 13th, 2023
Amidst the hyperinflation and economic crisis in Venezuela, Burger King has decided to accept cryptocurrency payments in partnership with Cryptobuyer across all of its 40 stores in the country.
Merchants in Venezuela are turning to adopt cryptocurrencies amidst the ongoing economic crisis in the country. The latest reports suggest that burger giant Burger King is now accepting cryptocurrency payments in Venezuela.
For this, Burger King has partnered with Panama-based Cryptobuyer to accept payments in digital currencies. Thus, Cryptobuyer will now act as the payment gateway for Burger King’s clientele. Reports suggest that the first trial of this partnership took place last week on December 30, in a shopping center in Venezuela’s capital Caracas.
Following the successful trial, Burger King is likely to roll-out this system in all of Venezuela’s forty restaurants in 2020. Burger King will be using point-of-sale terminals made by cryptocurrency buyers. This system will accept crypto payments in different digital currencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dash, Tether, and BNB.
With the hyperinflation having swept the nation, the Venezuelan Peso has crashed like anything. Cryptobuyer CEO Jorge Farias stated that issues of cash shortages and hyperinflation have completely ruined the country’s banking system. Thus, he thinks that this is a “perfect ground to deploy real-world cryptocurrency solutions”.
With the U.S. sanctions crippling the Venezuelan economy, country President Nicolas Maduro also launched its native cryptocurrency Petro back in 2018. Petro was a clear attempt to bypass the impact of US sanctions. However, the Venezuelan government doesn’t seem to have succeeded in its plans.
On the contrary, Venezuela has been pushing its citizens for using the Petro. Government officials say that nearly 100 stores in the country are now accepting the native cryptocurrency. Farias said:
“The factors, in conjunction with the government’s initiative to use cryptocurrency as a payment method, will push use and adoption of these cutting-edge technologies, and we are really proud to lead this push”.
President Maduro Announces Sale of Oil and Gold In Petro
In the latest development, President Nicolas Maduro has recently said that starting this year 2020, the government will be selling oil and other commodities like gold, steel, iron, and aluminum in the national cryptocurrency Petro.
During his latest interview with Spanish journalist, Maduro said:
“We are going to sell Venezuelan oil in petros. We are already selling the iron and steel of Venezuela in petros. We also have a signed contract for the sale of oil, steel, iron, aluminum and we are going to sell part of the gold production in petros.”
Maduro explicitly stated that the use of Petro cryptocurrency was a measure to reduce the impact of US sanctions. In December 2019, the Venezuelan government decided to pay its public employees and pensioners in Petro. Maduro said that it was a successful experiment for them.
He added that over 6 million Venezuelan families used Petro as a payment method for purchases made during the New Year Holidays.
