Cubans have increasingly turned to cryptocurrencies after the tightening of U.S. sanctions. This is reported by Deutsche Welle.
On November 23, Western Union closed 407 offices in Cuba amid restrictions on money transfers to the country.
Only for our U.S. customers. Important information: send money to family and loved ones in Cuba before the deadlines.
Send before: November 22, 2020 11:00 PM U.S. EST.
Pick up no later: November 23, 2020 at 6:00 PM CUBA TIME.
For more information click below.— Western Union (@WesternUnion) November 13, 2020
To circumvent sanctions, Cubans have begun using Bitcoin and some altcoins through the cryptocurrency platform BitRemesas. According to the company, the volumes of many transfers do not exceed $20, and the number of active holders of digital assets in the country is around 10,000.
“More and more Cubans are using cryptocurrencies to purchase or pay for online services… This is an alternative currency with new possibilities to which there is access,” BitRemesas said.
Earlier, Cuba rose to second place in the number of search queries related to Bitcoin. In terms of interest in the first cryptocurrency, the country trailed only Nigeria.
In 2019, Cuban authorities studied the possibility of using digital assets in national and international commercial operations to circumvent U.S. sanctions and mitigate the consequences of the economic crisis.
Venezuela has also considered cryptocurrencies as a tool to counter economic sanctions.
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