Značka: Venezuela

Web3 projects focus on education to bring Latin American women to the sector

Interest in Web3 continues to grow despite the crypto bear market. A recent article from McKinsey noted that venture capital investments in Web3 exceeded $18 billion during the first half of 2022. Findings from Cointelegraph Research also show that Web3 attracted the most interest from venture capitalists in comparison to other blockchain sectors during Q2 of this year. While notable, a lack of diversity has become apparent within the Web3 sector. For instance, it was found that only 16% of nonfungible token (NFT) creators are women. Although this number is low, women are taking an interest in owning digital assets. Given this, industry experts believe that a lack of education around Web3 is creating a barrier to entry for women, especially for those who are from underrepresented regions, such as those from Latin America.Initiatives to bring Latin American women to Web3Sandy Carter, senior vice president and channel chief of Unstoppable Domains — an NFT domain name provider and digital identity platform — told Cointelegraph that she has seen increased demand for Web3 content from women living in Brazil, Columbia and several additional Spanish-speaking countries, including Spain. “On March 8, 2022, Unstoppable Domains launched ‘Unstoppable Women of Web3,’ which is a diversity and education group focusing on training talent to equalize the playing field in Web3. Following this, a number of Latinas reached out requesting Web3 content in various languages,” she said. Recent: Crypto adoption: How FDIC insurance could bring Bitcoin to the massesIn order to cater to these requests, Carter explained that Unstoppable Domains recently initiated a goal to onboard 5 million Latin American women into Web3 by 2030. Carter added that this initiative is being launched in partnership with H.E.R. DAO LATAM — a women-led developer decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) championing diversity — along with the Spanish-language crypto education platform CryptoConexión. She said: “Education is the first step to building a more inclusive Web3. We have partnered with women from 25 different groups to help create educational materials around Web3 in Spanish. We are also distributing over $25 million worth of free NFT domains to five million Latinas to help them build and control their digital identity as a gateway into the sector.” According to Carter, initiatives like these are becoming more important, as she pointed out that women who live in or trace their ancestry to Latin America continue to be underrepresented in the tech industry. To put this in perspective, data from the online tech community Built In found that only 2% of computing-related jobs in the United States are held by women of Latin American descent. The same applies in Latin America itself, where women are significantly underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and math fields, according to research from IDB. Monica Talan, founder of CryptoConexión, told Cointelegraph that organizations must take an education-first approach that incorporates different languages to bridge the Web3 diversity gap, stating, “CryptoConexión has an initiative called ‘WAGMI LatAm,’ where our mission is to ensure access to Web3 content in English, Spanish and Portuguese.” Additionally, Laura Navarro Muñoz, governor of H.E.R. DAO LATAM, told Cointelegraph that the organization is helping women in Latin America transition to Web3 by providing travel scholarships to events and hackathons. Women participating at the Devcon Bogota hackathon. Source: H.E.R. DAO LATAMGroups like H.E.R. DAO LATAM and CryptoConexión have already started making an impact. Bricia Gabriela Guzmán Chávez, community manager at Web3Equity — a Web3 platform promoting gender equality — told Cointelegraph that she got her first job in the sector after obtaining a scholarship from H.E.R. DAO LATAM to attend a cryptocurrency event: “I heard a speaker say, ‘If we want to have more inclusion, we have to do it.’ That day, I joined the H.E.R. DAO Global Telegram where someone shared a position for ‘Discord moderator.’ I applied, and my life changed. Yet, at that moment, I didn’t have the hard skills that I have right now, so I’m grateful that they gave me their vote of confidence.”According to Guzmán Chávez, H.E.R. DAO LATAM also created a scholarship program following ETH Mexico called “Hacker Mom Scholar.” Through this, she was able to attend Devcon VI with her three children. “Currently, I’m working full-time remotely on Web3 projects, and each chance that these projects provide me to attend Web3 events is an opportunity to improve the quality of my life,” Guzmán Chávez mentioned. Talan further remarked that it’s important for Latin American women to get involved in Web3 due to the demand the sector is witnessing in the region, especially in places like Mexico. “Mexico is seeing more people use crypto for remittances,” she said. According to World Bank statistics, Mexico was the second-largest recipient of remittances in the world last year. Given this, a number of Web3 companies are setting up shop in Mexico to enable crypto remittances. “We need information available about how crypto remittances can be used. I believe this can be better achieved if we have more women building these products,” Talan said. Challenges for Latin American women seeking jobs in Web3While it’s notable that organizations are focused on bringing women from Latin America to the Web3 sector, challenges such as hiring freezes and access to technology may hamper adoption. For instance, data from Crypto Jobs List noted that the number of job listings and talent interested in the space has declined about 30%–40% in comparison to the last bull market in February 2022.On the flip side, Web3 is enabling more remote job opportunities, which may help drive a diverse workforce. “Web3 is helping people get high-paying jobs regardless of their location. All they need are the skills, which is why we are focused on education first,” Navarro Muñoz pointed out. Recent: Institutional crypto adoption requires robust analytics for money launderingDiana Carolyn Olvera Gómez, a Web3 researcher, told Cointelegraph that H.E.R. DAO LATAM gave her the opportunity to participate in her first hackathon. The organization also presented her with educational content in Spanish. In turn, Olvera Gómez shared that she remotely serves as a contributor to Web3Montréal, a Canadian nonprofit focused on Web3, and to Coinmiles, a Bitcoin (BTC) rewards platform. However, Olvera Gómez mentioned that access to technology, such as Web3 initiatives, can be complicated for many women living in regions like Latin America. Yet she believes that a ripple effect will drive women’s involvement as more get involved.“Web3 communities dedicated to women provide an opportunity to bridge the gender gap in the workplace.” Carter added that demand from women wanting to participate within Web3 is there, yet supplying the correct educational content is the next challenge: “We are in a bear market, but this is the time for building. Energy and enthusiasm around the space haven’t waned. We just need to figure out how to supply education to those interested in learning more.” 

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Bitcoin is for billions: Fedimint on scaling BTC in the global south

“Bitcoin is for billions, not billionaires,” a phrase first coined by investment researcher Lyn Alden, could soon become a reality, according to Fedimint. The protocol that aims to scale Bitcoin (BTC) while making it more private, has been buoyed by a $4.2 million seed round for the Fedi application.Cointelegraph spoke to Obi Nwosu, co-founder and CEO of Fedi, about the “incredible group of inspiring people who we are working with to support their activities to increase the freedoms of some of the most oppressed regions of the world,” and why the mobile app Fedi could solve issues related to scaling, custody and privacy. Lyudmyla Kozlovska, head of the Open Dialogue Foundation — which focuses on supporting people in post-soviet Europe — Farida Bemba Nabourema, a Togolese human rights activist, and Fadi Elsalameen, president of the Palestinian Security Project and a fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, support the Fedi app’s development and its impact in the global south and emerging economies.In brief, the Fedi wallet app connects users to Fedimint “federations.”  The Fedimint protocol (which takes its name from “federated” and “mint”) uses multi-signature (multisig) technology and trusted community members called “guardians.” How Fedimint “federations” combine. Source: Twitter Nwosu told Cointelegraph that Fedi hopes to have the biggest impact on those located in the global south, and that the firm is “uniquely placed to help which is why we will put special focus on deploying into these communities.”Farid Nabourema, a Togolese human rights activist, explained to Cointelegraph that in “poor parts of the world,” acquiring a hardware wallet is near impossible. Hardware wallet distributors including Ledger, ColdCard and Trezor are not present on the continent of Africa, despite the fact that “Africa has the fastest growing adoption rate and Togo, for example, was listed among the top 10 countries having the fastest adoption per capita based on the 2021 Chainalysis report.”The Fedi app may go some way in resolving these issues, allowing for greater exposure to Bitcoin in Africa, Nabourema continued:“Fedimint solves a lot of our problems in one system. It offers us an extra layer of security to keep bitcoin purchase and ownership totally decentralized, anonymous and offers an extra layer of ownership.”Nabourema details that the “federated wallet method” takes inspiration from the traditional savings methods used across Africa and emerging markets in the Caribbean and Latin America. Known as a “tontine” in francophone West Africa, a “sousou” in Nigeria, or a “zu-zu” in Trinidad and Tobago, these community savings tools help thousands of people to plan for their future. It’s among the oldest peer-to-peer savings technologies: “This model has helped millions of people, especially women who were traditionally excluded from the banking system to fund their businesses, their children’s education, to acquire properties among others.”Fedimint uses this community-backed approach to finance but uses a decentralized, immutable currency i.e. Bitcoin. “In addition, Fedimint adds an extra layer of security and more importantly privacy as the custodians can keep the amount they own totally private from others,” Nabourema highlights. Nourou, the founder of Bitcoin Senegal — a grassroots Bitcoin adoption campaign located in the populous West African city of Dakar — told Cointelegraph that Fedimint’s community-backed approach is a reflection of how certain Bitcoin enthusiasts run nodes. Related: Bitcoin in Zimbabwe: Importing cars and sending money to familyNonetheless, the way in which the groups of trusted community members called “guardians“ interact with Bitcoin using Fedi remains unclear at this stage and could pose risks, he explained:“In this instance, guardians would have more powers than others on the network, which could create centralization challenges. Plus, there could be a risk of certain people abusing their elevated responsibilities.”Nwosu explained that “Fedimint is a federated custody protocol that complements the Bitcoin monetary protocol and Lightning payments protocol to provide a complete solution to holding, using, and securing Bitcoin at global scale.” Community custody is a brand new development in the Bitcoin protocol while multisig, (in which two or more signatories are required to move Bitcoin), has existed for almost a decade. Although Africa is a clear candidate for Bitcoin scaling and community-backed advancements, Nwosu told Cointelegraph that Leopoldo Lopez, the Venezuelan opposition leader who co-founded the political party Primero Justicia in the year 2000, has also shown interest. Reportedly, the solution that Fedi poses could “meet the needs of the people in Latin America at scale.” Nabourema concluded that Fedimint will be “a lifesaver for millions of citizens living in developing worlds and most importantly those that face brutal authoritarianism at the hands of their government which tends to control their money and how they use it.”

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Brazil beams Bitcoin from space: A case for BTC satellite nodes

A Bitcoiner in Brazil has beamed the blockchain from space. Mauricio Cessere, product manager at Ledn and a Venezuelan national, has established the purported first Bitcoin (BTC) satellite full node in Brazil. The full satellite node that Cessere has established downloads the Bitcoin blockchain directly from the Blockstream Satellite Network, negating the need for a reliable internet connection. It’s a small step for Bitcoin’s web of nodes but a giant leap for Bitcoin adoption, evincing that those in remote or hard to reach areas could run nodes. Cessere poses with the satellite dish that receives the Bitcoin blockchain. Source: CessereA refresher for those new to nodes: a Bitcoin full node is software that continuously monitors the blockchain and its complete transaction history. A full node prohibits non-legitimate transactions and thwarts attempts to spend Bitcoin twice, known as a “double-spend”. Cessere explains that nodes “grant their owners decentralized access to the only uncensorable monetary network that we know of today.”However, up until 2020, configuring a Bitcoin node (sometimes called a Bitcoin peer, as Bitcoin is a “peer-to-peer version of electronic cash”) was wholly dependent on local internet providers. Thanks to upgrades in Bitcoin company Blockstream’s Satellite Network, Bitcoin believers around the world can download a full node without an internet connection.The satellite receiver from novra technologies. Source: CessereBut, why does it matter? As Cessere explains: “Satellite Full Nodes are the next step to further decentralization of the Bitcoin network,” adding:“The use case for Satellite Full Nodes could not be brighter. A few offline access points of these can fully connect remote communities to Bitcoin, even ones without prior internet access.”There is a compelling case for satellite full nodes, particularly in countries that struggle with unstable governments, unreliable internet connections and weak digital infrastructure. In effect, a satellite full node can help more emerging countries and individuals without internet connections contribute and eventually participate in the Bitcoin network. Bitcoin Gandalf (not his real name), of Braiins Bitcoin mining company explained to Cointelegraph that “using Blockstream satellite adds an additional level of redundancy should more traditional connectivity methods be interrupted.” It’s taken me much longer than expected, but I will download #Bitcoin’s blockchain from space within Brazil this year. ⛓— El Sultán ₿itcoin (@elsultanbitcoin) January 27, 2022In neighbouring Venezuela, for example, a Bitcoin satellite node was installed in 2020. Venezuela benefits from a robust infrastructure of satellite dish networks which as Cecere explains, “can be leveraged to expand Bitcoin’s offline signal on earth.” Cecere connected to a Blockstream satellite from his homeland, after television network provider DirecTV left the country:“I recycled a dish that DirecTV had installed at my parent’s house more than 10 years ago and turned it into an access point to the most powerful monetary network on Earth. That’s experiencing the power of borderless money at its utmost in the flesh!”Venezuela is an increasingly pro-crypto nation, having experienced high levels of inflation since 2016. Across the border in Brazil, it’s another hotbed for adoption, particularly in light of a new bill that proposes protections to private keys as well as the legalization of crypto payments. The ability to run a satellite node in these countries as an offline connection point is a boon for adoption and the network’s resilience.For Cessere’s satellite node in Venezuela, he “modernized`“ the dish with a clothes pin to assist the download of the blockchain. Source: Cessere The Brazilian satellite full node Cessere built is connecting from a family member’s house in Santos, just south of Brazil’s largest city São Paulo . If the node runs successfully, the intention is to “port the equiment to Fundação Parque Tecnológico de Santos Gustavo,” a technology and innovation park where it will remain permanently connected as an offline connection point.   Related: Bitcoin Lightning Network developer updates node software with Taproot supportHowever, the Bitcoin space signal has some limitations. Cessere explains it’s a “one-way street, since one can only download data from it but not push any; hence, they’re not capable of broadcasting transactions to the network.”In the future, Blockstream may introduce an even more advanced version of their satellite equipment which may enable those with extremely limited access to internet access — such as crypto mining companies in far-flung destinations — to connect to Bitcoin.Then, and only then will Bitcoin take on the mantle of being “space money.”

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Uphold withdraws with Venezuela, citing US sanctions

Crypto trading platform Uphold said it will be withdrawing support for users in Venezuela due to sanctions imposed by the United States government.In a Thursday announcement, Uphold said “owing to the increasing complexity of complying with U.S. sanctions” the platform would “very reluctantly” be moving out of Venezuela. The platform advised users to withdraw their funds as soon as possible, noting it would halt trading for Venezuela-based clients on July 31, with all accounts “fully restricted” starting on Sept. 30. “As a U.S. financial institution, Uphold has to comply with U.S. sanction programs administered by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), including those against the Government of Venezuela, state-owned entities and their employees,” said the platform. “Without a change in applicable law, or specific permission from OFAC, these regulations may prohibit us from releasing funds to a small number of our Venezuelan customers.”#RegPills ÚLTIMA HORALa plataforma de intercambios UPHOLD @UpholdInc se RETIRA de Venezuela debido a la complejidad jurídica originada por las sanciones norteamericanas. pic.twitter.com/DeScs8260U— Criptolawyer.eth (@criptolawyer) June 23, 2022Many of the sanctions currently imposed by the U.S. government against Venezuela-based entities went into effect in August 2019, when the previous administration barred transactions with U.S. citizens and companies in addition to ordering all Venezuelan government assets in the United States to be frozen. In May, President Joe Biden eased some of the sanctions, focusing on restrictions around U.S.-based oil companies including Chevron.Related: Venezuelans reportedly hit by new Bitcoin tax of up to 20%Prior to many of these economic measures, the Venezuelan government was reportedly able to use cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) to evade sanctions in certain circumstances. The country was also one of the biggest leaders in crypto peer-to-peer transactions in 2021 according to blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis.

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P2P payments spurred crypto adoption across Venezuela in 2021

For Venezuela, 2021 has been a year of considerable changes at the microeconomic level, where even more than in 2020, the results of powerful catalysts for change such as COVID-19 were clearly visible. In a more dynamic economy with a higher volume of operations with foreign currencies, cryptocurrencies played a key role during this year for the South American country. In this review, we’ll take a look at the highlights of the Venezuelan crypto ecosystem in 2021 including related areas such as trading, play-to-earn (P2E) games, fintech, mining, regulation and nonfungible tokens (NFTs). More people accepting cryptocurrenciesAccording to blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis, Venezuela ranks seventh in the Global Cryptocurrency Adoption Index 2021 thanks in large part to peer-to-peer (P2P) trading activity.A noticeable trend in 2021 was the growing number of people and businesses in Venezuela accepting cryptocurrencies as a form of payment to circumvent the hyperinflation and devaluation of the national currency, the bolivar — a trend that has plagued the South American nation for the last few years. In some of the main cities of the country such as the capital Caracas and Puerto La Cruz, it is increasingly normal to see people or merchants using cryptocurrencies as a form of payment.The appearance and adoption of crypto payment platforms such as Binance Pay, Reserve or even Valiú have accelerated the adoption of a more digital economy based on cryptocurrencies without the need for users to have extensive knowledge of the subject.Notable businesses accepting cryptocurrencies in Venezuela include the Simón Bolívar International Airport, supermarket chain Bio Mercados, several casinos and even the largest cable TV operator in the country. Fast food chain Church’s Chicken also began paying bonuses to its employees in Dash (DASH).Support for legal miningAccording to a report by the University of Cambridge, Venezuela ranked among the top 10 cryptocurrency-mining countries at the beginning of 2021, making it the first Latin American country to break the top 10. The country’s high mining ranking was thanks in large part to it having the cheapest electricity prices in Latin America since 2018. This makes the Caribbean country attractive for Bitcoin (BTC) mining and the creation of a regulatory framework that protects and guarantees the legal development of the industry.Despite some cases of mining equipment being seized, arbitrary disconnections and arrests of illegal miners, the National Superintendence of Cryptoassets (SUNACRIP) has called on miners to operate legally. It is further searching for mechanisms to provide guarantees of legal stability. By mid-September, an official communiqué from the government ordered law enforcement to refrain from making inspections or carrying out operations related to the supervision, seizure or of any other nature that interrupts cryptocurrency mining.In mid-November, the country’s fifth official mining meeting took place and SUNACRIP met with more than 150 miners from the region, companies linked to the digital mining sector, crypto personalities from the Venezuelan ecosystem and exchanges like Binance.Play-to-earn game crazeFor the last four months of 2021, 10 of the 50 most visited web pages in Venezuela were related to cryptocurrencies, among which were a notable amount related to popular NFT games like Axie Infinity and Plants vs Undead.Play-to-earn and NFT games caused a furor in Venezuela among both experienced crypto users and newcomers to the asset class. The games have encouraged crypto adoption, primarily thanks to players’ ability to generate dividends. For many Venezuelan families, this has turned out to be a type of economic salvation given the low salaries. In fact, Venezuela boasts the second-most active user base by country in Axie Infinity behind the Philippines.The game was so popular that many businesses began to accept Axie Infinity’s Smooth Love Potion (SLP) token. Binance enabled P2P exchange of SLP in its application, and even a candidate for governor of the ruling party in the recent regional elections promised to deliver Axie Infinity scholarships if he won. Academic interest in crypto and blockchainEducation is fundamental for adoption in Venezuela, where the Universidad Catolica Andres Bello in Venezuela, incorporated blockchain, cryptocurrencies and fintech into the curriculum of programs in its schools of business administration and public accounting. The Universidad Nacional Experimental de las Telecomunicaciones e Informática introduced a master’s degree on blockchain, while Universidad de los Llanos unveiled plans to introduce an undergraduate degree focused on blockchain engineering and cryptocurrencies in 2022.Blockchain specialist appointedCivil servant Roman Maniglia, a self-designated specialist in cryptocurrencies and new technologies, was appointed by the government of President Nicolas Maduro at the end of September as president of that country’s largest bank, Banco de Venezuela. The appointment of an official who describes himself in his Twitter biography as a specialist in finance, cryptocurrencies, fintech and blockchain, demonstrates Venezuela’s interest in combining traditional financial systems with the new generation of technologies like blockchain.Promotion of Venezuelan NFT art2021 saw a boom not only in cryptocurrency markets, but the explosion of NFTs across the globe — Venezuela was no exception. NFTs saw mass adoption in entertainment with several popular video games, as well as use cases in art and music.SUNACRIP launched an NFT in commemoration of the country’s independence and the bicentennial of the Battle of Carabobo. The long-standing flagship company in the nation’s liquor sector, Ron Carúpano de Venezuela, launched its own collection of NFTs on OpenSea’s decentralized marketplace for charitable purposes. In addition, a community of Venezuelan artists called La Tokenía minted artworks into NFTs and displayed them at special exhibitions.

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Venezuelans reportedly hit by new Bitcoin tax of up to 20%

The Venezuelan government has approved a new tax bill aiming to collect up to 20% in taxes from cryptocurrency transactions, according to local reports.Venezuela’s National Assembly held the second discussion session on Thursday for a new draft bill targeting taxes on “large financial transactions” in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC).The Venezuelan government reportedly approved the draft bill last Thursday, requiring local firms and individuals to pay up to 20% for operations carried out in cryptocurrencies as well as foreign currencies like the U.S. dollar.Filed on Jan. 20, the draft law aims to collect from 2% to 20% over transactions in any currencies other than those issued by the Republic Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, or the Venezuelan bolivar and the country’s oil-backed cryptocurrency, El Petro.The initiative aims to incentivize the use of the national currency, which reportedly lost over 70% in value last year alone and shed nearly all its value over the past decade.“It is necessary to guarantee treatment at least equal to, or more favorable, to payments and transactions made in the national currency or in cryptocurrencies or crypto assets issued by the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela versus payments made in foreign currency,” the bill reads.Related: India to introduce 30% crypto tax, digital rupee CBDC by 2022–23As previously reported by Cointelegraph, Bitcoin adoption has been skyrocketing in Venezuela in recent years, with many thousands of local businesses starting moving into cryptocurrency to survive amid hyperinflation. In October 2021, a major international airport in Venezuela was preparing to start accepting cryptocurrencies like BTC as payment for tickets and other services.

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