Joel Valenzuela in New Hampshire and Eugenia Alcalá Sucre in Venezuela have committed to the same practice: living on Dash, a cryptocurrency ranked 11th by market value. Valenzuela has lived on Dash
Joel Valenzuela in New Hampshire and Eugenia Alcalá Sucre in Venezuela have committed to the same practice: living on Dash, a cryptocurrency ranked 11th by market value.
Valenzuela has lived on Dash for three years. Sucre adopted the practice last September after organizing the country's first Dash conference. Both explained to MiningPool why they chose the altcoin and what that life looks like.
Valenzuela began testing whether peer-to-peer digital currencies function as promised. He started with Bitcoin but found it insufficient. "I decided to keep the experiment going, and went for the only other solution that came even close to feasible at the time, which was Dash," he said. "Since then it has become the most used cryptocurrency for payment purposes."
The infrastructure has grown. DiscoverDash lists more than 2,800 merchants accepting Dash in Venezuela, compared with just shy of 1,130 in the United States. Overstock operates among them. Bitrefill fills gaps by exchanging Dash for gift cards to Amazon, Hotels.com, and eBay.
Valenzuela spends his Dash on flights, festival passes, meals, hotels, and furnishings. Bills and parking prove harder to pay for. The platform works best for international transfers and peer-to-peer transactions.
Sucre faced a different problem set. Venezuela's economy buckles under hyperinflation. The bolívar loses purchasing power daily. Banks reject new customers from other nations. Cash vanishes from ATMs. Point-of-sale terminals fail. Daily withdrawal ceilings constrain commerce.
The U.S. dollar presented a dead end. "That is why I started to research about cryptocurrencies," Sucre said. "When I found [out] about Dash I just fell in love with it because of its speed and low fees, and especially because of its governance system."
She launched Dash Caracas, an educational nonprofit that became Dash Venezuela. The organization teaches citizens about blockchain technology, cryptocurrency fundamentals, Dash's capabilities, and how it could help overcome economic barriers. Since founding last year, the group brought 6,000 people to events and signed 12,000 to its mailing list for weekly updates. Other communities formed across Venezuela. Exposure to Dash as a payment method spread.
Ryan Taylor, CEO of the Dash Core Group, told Business Insider in August that Venezuela reached the second-largest market position this year, surpassing China and Russia. "Dash has been a game changer to people who have adopted it," Sucre said. "They can now protect themselves from the hyperinflation, and also connect again after so many years with the global market."
The state released the Petro, an oil-backed token, in February. No exchange has accepted it. Speculation surrounds whether the currency functions as intended or operates as a fraud.
Valenzuela and Sucre operate in different settings, yet both encountered the same underlying truth. The conventional financial system crumbles under scrutiny. "Merchants are paying egregious fees with complicated setups, waiting days to be able to access funds," Valenzuela observed. "Sending money peer-to-peer without cash is a nightmare, as I've been paid this way before and then struggled to find a way to actually spend it. Once I did I incurred delays and withdrawal fees. It's mind-blowing that the modern economy manages to function on systems such as this."
Adoption has become easier over time. More merchants accept Dash each month. Sucre confirms the same trend in Venezuela. Both face obstacles: DASH's shifting price, spotty infrastructure on the merchant end. Both remain committed to sustained Dash use.
Valenzuela and Sucre share a conviction that cryptocurrency will displace fiat currency. "The contrasts and advantages are more apparent in the developing world and in countries with hyperinflation, but the same applies on a much more limited scale across the whole world," Valenzuela said.
