Cuba’s President Miguel Diaz-Canel proposed new countermeasures against the imposed by the US sanctions. In a public statement, broadcast on the Cuban national television, it was claimed that the use of cryptocurrencies is anticipated to improve the economic climate for around one-fourth of the entire Cuban population.
Diaz-Canel’s primary goal is to boost international transactions and bypass Trump’s embargo in order to open new doors for Asian investors and tourists.
Cuba’s Minister of Economy and Planning, Alejandro Gil Fernandez, stated on the state-financed national tv that the Cuba`s government will try to delve deep into researching and analyzing all possibilities and opportunities for the cryptocurrencies utilization, as well as their deployment as a payment and transaction tool in domestic and international commerce.
According to Fernandes, Cuba’s transition to cryptocurrencies will be a long-term project, and there will be no shortage of specialists, as Cuba has been a hub for developing talented software engineers and specialists.
The crypto-deployment announcement was made after Cuba’s President made strong accusations against Donald Trump and his administration. Diaz-Canel accused Trump in “financial asphyxiation that dangers the import of first necessity products and makes living very difficult.”
Cuba will not be the first country to issue a cryptocurrency, however, as Venezuela issued “El Petro” with the same goal in mind – to battle US sanctions, but the project never experienced too much popularity. Venezuela’s crypto project was oil-backed, but the price of Venezuela’s native currency, the Bolivar, continued to plunge down, because of sanctions and difficulties in receiving international investments.