Cryptographic Vouchers in Venezuela

In Venezuela there is a current economic fact that is affecting more and more Venezuelans. Every day the use of dollars in cash is becoming more frequent, it is common for most to have those American bills in our purses and pockets.

But we also find the fact that when we want to use them, there is not enough circulation of low-denomination banknotes at the time of giving change.

Some stores like "Tiendas Beco" and "Traky" tried to implement coupons, which can be used later in future purchases. This helps a lot, but it is not the solution. In addition, the government authorities declared them illegal and they had to be eliminated.

_{Image Source}

A solution for this phenomenon of lack of change, could be the creation of cryptographic "Tokens", which would help promote adoption and give greater confidence to the user.
In addition, not only would its use be limited to a single chain of stores, but its applicability could be made universal.

Proposal

Around this situation, a friend of mine who lives here in my city, undertook an initiative which I consider valuable and I would like to talk about it below.

He created a token in order to promote its use within a group of fast food outlets. This could be considered as a small-scale "trial" of what could be a large project at the national level and which has all feasibility conditions for its implementation.

_{Image Source}

In this commercial area, several fast food outlets are established. Every afternoon and evening there is an economic activity that involves millions of bolivars (national currency), which is why the use of American currency (dollar) is becoming more and more frequent to cover the high amounts in bolivars, of meals.
Again, customers find themselves with the diatriva at the time of canceling because in Venezuela they do not have low denomination bills and much less coins, to give the change.

With the implementation of "Valecoin" (Commercial name for the token) both customers and merchants have benefited, since it can be fractioned and payments can be made in an exact way.
"Valecoin" has the equivalent value of 1USD, and like any token, it can be fractioned, thus allowing the exact cancellation of the purchase price.

Initially, an educational campaign had to be developed that began with the owners of the premises. They, in turn, brought the knowledge to their clients.
Currently, after 3 months of testing, the use of "Valecoin" is being implemented in this commercial area with total success.

How was "Valecoin" created?

There are many platforms that allow the creation of tokens, mostly based on Ethereum (ERC-20).
In this case, Valecoin was developed using the "Hathor" Blockchain, which is an evolution based on the BTC blockchain. It's a public, non-permissioned network.

Hathor's native cryptocurrency is the HTR.

_{Image Source}

Using this cryptocurrency, it is possible to create alternative, customizable, fully interchangeable tokens through the use of Atomic-Swaps, without fees and controlled by smart contracts.

Conclusion

Initiatives like this, such as the creation of "Valecoin" could be more than a temporary paleative to the cash crisis that Venezuela is experiencing. This could be a long-term implementation.

The adoption of cryptography by the common citizen must be constantly promoted in order to achieve the required levels.
There is still a long way to go as the initial rejection of the unknown is still the main barrier to overcome when trying to educate people who have no knowledge about the benefits of using crypto.

Valecoin was developed using the Hathor Blockchain, but if the nations of the world decide to implement a national currency, they have the possibility to create their own blockchain.

This small-scale experiment proved its feasibility. The Venezuelan authorities could develop a more ambitious project of national applicability as a way to face the current monetary crisis and at the same time educate the Venezuelan population regarding the adoption of crypto as a tool for financial emancipation.