Biz Builder Mike

You can't sail Today's boat on Yesterdays wind - Michael Noel

Pizza Hut Now Accept Bitcoin Payments in Venezuela

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Venezuela continues to grow its Bitcoin adoption base, as both the private and public sectors are opening up to the asset. Local crypto services provider CryptoBuyer confirmed on Twitter that popular fast-food chain Pizza Hut will now accept Bitcoin for payments in the country.

All Locations Open to Crypto

The move is part of a larger adoption drive that looks to improve Bitcoin’s functionality in the South American nation. Speaking with news source ElAxioma, Richard ElKhouri, Pizza Hut’s General Director of Operations for Venezuela, explained that the country had witnessed the surge in demand for Bitcoin as a daily necessity.

With more chunks of the population accepting the cryptocurrency, Pizza Hut believes that it is right for them to incorporate it.

The new service uses CryptoBuyer. With the partnership, users can purchase pies at several Pizza Hut locations – including Caracas, Maracaibo, Maracay, and Barquisimeto. Acceptable cryptocurrencies include Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin, Binance Coin, Binance Dollar, Tether, Dai, and XPT, CryptoBuyer’s native token.

CryptoBuyer has been making significant moves to improve Bitcoin adoption in Venezuela, following a more positive stance on the asset from the government.

Based in Panama, the crypto merchant payment service partnered with Mega Soft, a local company that processes payments for local businesses. The partnership will see merchant Server, Mega Soft’s payment service, accept dozens of cryptocurrencies in addition to fiat.

Through the partnership, merchants will be able to get payments in cryptocurrencies and either settle them in real-time or keep them for future purposes.

Getting More Crypto-Friendly

The increase in crypto focus comes as Venezuela continues to battle crippling economic crises. At a certain point last year, hyperinflation in the country hit 10 million. This made it pretty challenging to tore the local currency. Since the international community had imposed sanctions on Venezuela, access to currencies like the dollar was also tricky.

This opened the door for cryptocurrencies to help. Inflation has slowed down since then, but these assets remain essential to the economy. With businesses looking to stabilize their cash flow, it has been imperative to incorporate cryptocurrencies into their operation. The partnership between Mega Soft and CryptoBuyer covers it.

The Venezuelan government has also recognized the role of cryptocurrencies in their fight to maintain the economy. In September, President Nicolas Maduro presented a bill to the National Constituent Assembly that draws a possible roadmap for the country’s evasion of U.S.-imposed sanctions. The bill explained that the government would study the use of both private and public digital assets in bolstering trade.

Amongst other things, the bill marked a significant departure from the government’s previous stance. For over a year, it has focused on Petro, its state-backed asset. However, with Petro having no use beyond Venezuela’s walls, the government will need to rely heavily on existing cryptocurrencies to conduct trade.

Pizza Hut Now Accept Bitcoin Payments in Venezuela

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PlasmaPay Joins Force With Kava Labs to Provide users With Kava & Hard Token Access

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PlasmaPay, a global payment and remittance platform for decentralized finance (DeFi), announced on Monday it has formed a partnership with Kava, a decentralized bank for digital assets providing users with stablecoins, loans, and interest-earning opportunities. According to PlasmaPay, the collaboration will see the full integration of the Kava Protocol into PlasmaPay, allowing PlasmaPay users to purchase KAVA tokens and store them on the PlasmaPay wallet.

“Initially, this partnership will allow PlasmaPay users to purchase KAVA tokens, including HARD and USDX, at the PlasmaPay checkout. HARD is a governance token that was recently listed on Binance and BitMax for the first time. USDX is a stablecoin popular among users seeking to earn interest on their digital assets. The long-term collaboration will focus on full integration of Kava’s services, including the Kava wallet, into PlasmaPay’s decentralized financial infrastructure.”

PlasmaPay further revealed that through the partnership it will also support Kava’s lending and staking protocols on Plasma Finance, allowing integration to the PlasmaPay DeFi Dashboard. While sharing more details about the partnership, Ilia Maksimenka, CEO of PlasmaPay, stated:

“With Bitcoin currently enjoying a bull run akin to 2017 highs, interest in decentralized finances is as high as it’s ever been – migrating beyond the cryptocurrency enthusiast into the mainstream. At PlasmaPay we are dogmatic in our mission to bring DeFi to the masses. Adding protocols such as Kava to our repertoire is a continuation of our work to provide access to best-in-class assets for our users.” 

Brian Kerr, CEO of Kava, added:

“I’m excited to bring HARD, USDX and KAVA to the 100,000 users across 165 countries that are currently being served by PlasmaPay’s wallet. The ability to buy crypto directly on the PlasmaPay wallet with a credit card opens up endless opportunities for anyone to easily access digital assets simply by downloading an app and entering their credit card information.”

Founded in 2017, PlasmaPay describes itself as a global payment and remittance platform for people and digital business. It allows users to securely store crypto and fiat currency, buy and exchange popular digital assets, make and receive payments, build their own payment network with zero-fee transactions.

“Our mission is to create an open financial platform for the world to unlock the full potential of new blockchain technolog

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Chinese President Encourages ASEAN Countries to Join the ‘Digital Silk Road’

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China’s vision for trade and economic development is part of what caused the government to turn bullish on blockchain and a potential Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).

However, the Xi administration now seems poised to apply the same technology to one of its most ambitious projects – the Belt and Road initiative.

Strengthening Trade in the Asia-Pacific

Earlier this week, President Xi Jinping told representatives from several top Asian economies to join it in developing the “digital Silk Road.”

According to a report from the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the president made the speech at the China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning. He highlighted that Beijing takes the ASEAN countries seriously and hopes to partner on a more fruitful economic future.  

In a recorded message, Xi assured the Asian leaders that as the only high-performing economy in the 10-country economic bloc, China will continue opening up to them. With everyone looking to build their economies following the coronavirus pandemic, Xi assured help with trade.

“China will unswervingly expand its opening up to the outside world, enhancing its domestic and international economic linkages, and driving the world’s common recovery through its recovery, from which all countries in the world, including Asean, will benefit. Looking to the future, there will be even more room for cooperation between China and Asean,” the president said.

A Set of Ambitious, Controversial Projects

The speech appeared to have mentioned China’s ambitious Belt and Road initiative, which began in 2013. The project is described by many as the 21st century Silk Road, mirroring the old trade routes that traversed much of the developed world.

China’s Belt and Road Initiative reportedly plans to connect trade routes in Africa, Asia, and Europe. The project consists of a “belt” of overland corridors and a “road” of shipping lanes. It includes over 70 countries, all accounting for about half of the world’s population and 25 percent of global GDP.

Estimates from Morgan Stanley show that the initiative could cost over $1 trillion. The Chinese government has reportedly invested over $210 billion into it already, with most of the money being spent in Asia.

Although Xi didn’t highlight what the “digital Silk Road” meant, China has been bullish on technological innovations for trade in the past few years. Part of that has been its fixation on the blockchain, with patents related to the technology exploding. A report highlighted that Chinese companies have applied for 4,435 blockchain patents since the government endorsed the technology.

The government has also made significant progress with its digital yuan, with some believing that the asset could launch in 2022. Like the BRI, the digital yuan has also been the subject of significant controversy. Some think that it will challenge the dollar’s status as the global reserve currency, essentially making China the world’s sole superpower.

Chinese President Encourages ASEAN Countries to Join the ‘Digital Silk Road’

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