It helps to start from the ground up, so why are we doing this? Why is this not in the news?
It is, just not on your local channels:
Venezuela has become the largest migration and refugee crisis in the world tied with Ukraine (6.8m). It has surpassed Syria (6.6M). No invasion nor natural disaster was needed. Just Maduro’s regime. People fleeing due to starvation, violence, and persecution.
1.8 million Venezuelans have fled the country since COVID19 began (March 2020).
More than 45,000 Venezuelans crossed El Darién between January and July 2022.
For reference here are some total population figures in millions (m):
Panama 4.4m
Costa Rica 5.1m
El Salvador 6.3m
Paraguay 6.7m
Nicaragua 6.8m
Venezuelan MIGRANTS AND REFUGEES 6.8 Million
A country outside a country.~Commissioner of the General Secretariat @OEA_oficial for the Venezuelan migrant and refugee crisis
David Smolansky
The Humanitarian Crisis of Venezuelan Migrants and Refugees
The Collapse of the Venezuelan Economy is not the only reason for the largest Humanitarian crisis in the history of the Western Hemisphere. The systematic violation of human rights and the crimes against humanity that the dictatorship has perpetrated are recurring causes of the forced migration of nearly 7 million Venezuelans. It’s not the sanctions. Venezuela, unfortunately, does not fix itself, it disintegrates. The following infographic is current as of August 2022.
The crisis of displaced persons from Venezuela should be addressed from the humanitarian perspective to achieve three objectives:
(i) protect the human rights of the Venezuelan migrants and refugees;
(ii) facilitate safe, orderly, and regular events to promote economic growth
(ii) facilitate access to an open international financial system
Cripto Conserje will present an open source multi-disciplinary approach to helping the crisis of displaced persons from Venezuela considering their current situation in Colombia; its impact on the inclusion of vulnerable sectors; the economic impact of the Venezuelan migration on the places overwhelmed by their arriving numbers; Teaching refugees about Bitcoin as a tool for intermediary free international banking during their time of crisis. Our events focus on helping deliver humanitarian aid via bitcoin airdrops combined with hands-on education.
We are testing a new model for our non-profit organization, the Proof of Work Philanthropy Model.
The model is simple donations will be received via bitcoin, Lightning Network, and Bitcoin Miners. Miners can donate the Hardware or Hash Power and the NPO focuses on securing the best-hosted deployment for machines it owns. By solving the problem of “Always asking for more” we can:
- Focus on the mission
- Not compromise our values in exchange for funding
- Be Censorship Resistant
With these funds we plan to build and run the first Bitcoin Humanitarian Center:
Cripto Conserje is building a facility in Colombia to educate and train Venezuelan refugees crossing the border.
Education is critical so that refugees can learn skills, gain employment and integrate into the local economy.
The total facility size will be between 2,500 sq. ft. to 3,500 sq. ft. This facility will allocate 50% of the space for Cripto Conserje which will allow for Bitcoin education and additional vocational training to help Latin Americans achieve their goals of independent living in Colombia.
Timeline
6 months to 1 year for construction depending on construction permits, resource allocation, and site selection.
1. Land purchase time is approximately 1-4 months. [COMPLETE]
2. Permits 1-3 months for government approval. [IN PROCESS]
3. Blueprint design and resource allocation [IN PROCESS]
Our Goal
Is to empower local economic actors such as merchants and individuals by providing financial tools that increase liquidity and facilitate means of exchange. We do this through the use of digital assets and grass-roots educational training. In addition to providing direct humanitarian relief to refugees throughout Latin America, our aim is to encourage adoption and stimulate economic activity.
Colombia is among the countries in Latin America with the highest trading volumes of Bitcoin (digital asset). Despite this high volume of trading, few businesses in the region accept cryptocurrencies as a means of payment. There are several explanations for this which include but are not limited to:
- Lack of Trusted service providers
- Limited Knowledge Base and “Know-How”
- Ambiguous legal framework
The Venezuelan diaspora in Cúcuta presents a unique opportunity for these types of projects. Typical crypto asset volatility pales in comparison to the high currency inflation of the Bolivar. A decentralized system, that functions trust-free, is perfect for a displaced population that has limited access to financial services such as banking, savings, and credit. Our main objective is to align the right economic incentives to encourage self-governing communities and autonomous projects, as well as the right educational material and leadership to gain the interest of regional communities.
Cripto Conserje strives to bring financial freedom to Latin America, a region comprised of more than 20 countries with a population of 650 Million people. The regional GDP represents over $10T, however, 45% of the population is unbanked. There is a strong need for digital asset adoption in Latin America, particularly among Venezuelans who are suffering under one of the most dramatic economic crises in recent history.
Our initial scope is a three-tier program to increase adoption in Cúcuta.
- Online Testing Environment: We will deploy an online test environment to measure the effectiveness of educational training and workshops. After participants and merchants receive technical training, they will take a simple questionnaire to measure their knowledge base and demonstrate a basic understanding of the technology. Once the questionnaire is completed, a paper wallet will be generated and automatically funded with Bitcoin.
- Merchant Onboarding: We will onboard 100 local merchants to begin accepting digital assets as payments using on-site training and digital assets capable point of sales tools.
- End-user Adoption: After merchants are onboarded, we will work with them and local community organizers to distribute 300.000 paper wallets to people living in Cúcuta. Individuals can use these paper wallets at participating merchants for food and other basic goods.
Cripto Conserje has been in operation since April 2018. We conducted nine successful training workshops with merchants, paper wallets, and different points of sales. We are one of the few projects tackling this problem with local team leads on the ground. We are currently at the second tier of our project.
Digital assets can provide economic stability throughout Latin America, particularly in places such as Venezuela where communities suffer from severe food shortages and medicine shortages. Our vision is to achieve 50% Bitcoin adoption in major cities like Bogota, Mexico City, and Buenos Aires.
We report the results of our events and also record videos of the event in progress before the data are in, so that we can be accountable for the results. We also run smaller, non-experimental tests to learn more about what works best and how different types of recipients spend funds they receive. This was how we began our project with 2 paper wallets and an informal merchant.
Scaling
To measure our progress and scalability, we have set short-term and long term project milestones:
1. Short-term milestones
- Launch Bitcoin Education Hub in Cúcuta. Cripto Conserje has acquired land to build a Humanitarian center near Cúcuta.
- Complete Merchant Adoption pilot program, targeting 100 participating merchants.
- Improve the Testing environment and questionnaires with enhanced features such as an automatic reward system based on user experience and knowledge base acquired.
- Offer financial access via SMS by 3rd party service provider CoinTigo.io (see Key Partners for more details).
- Create educational material; training videos and in-site programs / fast-tracks
- Advertising and Marketing.
- Live support and online helpdesk for crypto asset management.
- Repeat model with merchants outside of Cúcuta.
2. Long-term milestones
- Achieve +50% Bitcoin adoption in a major city in Latin America
- Provide support and aid to economically distressed populations living in Cúcuta, Colombia, especially Venezuelan refugees
- Prove cryptocurrencies are a workable form of digital money
- Establish a successful and safe business operation that is can be easily replicated
Future services include:
- Help Desk for clients and merchants (regarding issues with wallets, exchanges, etc…)
- Consulting and continued education (such as crypto asset management courses, walking the client through things like staking, masternodes, and automated trading such as index strategies, lending, etc.)
- Act as a P2P hub