Yes, I guess they had their financial reasons to liquidate the project. But I would have given it a chance to survive, even more after seeing that it was a complete success, beyond any previous expectation. Perhaps I would have lowered the funding, asking for comprehension about the difficult times; and made little sacrifices in other areas, just to save one of the most successful initiatives of the worldwide project.

Well, in the end it's all a matter of criteria behind every management. There could be a wiser criteria that looks into the future all the benefits of establishing a strong web of users of the currency, in countries that urgently need such solutions.

Yes, as @lanzjoseg already said, there are a few of other services to exchange Steem against the national currency. Until now I've just used @orinoco because it allows the possibility to buy an internal stable-coin named Nectar (NTO).

It is a perfect solution for me, because I calculate the moment of the week when the Steem price is higher, and then buy some NTOs. It's like buying American dollars (because the value of NTO is attached to the USD) to protect the value of my earnings against the fluctuation of cryptocurrencies, and against the daily devaluation of VES (the national currency).