Communist Party Of Cuba Includes Bitcoin In New Economic Guidelines

Bitcoin (BTC) will be part of the new economic guidelines drawn up by the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) for the period 2021-2026. This information was advanced during the VIII Congress of the aforementioned party, which was held in Havana between April 16 and 19, 2021.

The announcement was made by Mercedes López Acea, a member of the Political Bureau, which is the highest body of the upper management of the PCC. The official indicated that, as part of the new guidelines, it will seek to “advance the study of cryptocurrencies in the current conditions of the economy.” In this sense, Bitcoin would serve as an alternative to the economic crisis that the country is going through.

Although no other details are offered in this regard, it could be a first step in the future use of cryptocurrencies by the Cuban government. As reported by Granma, the official newspaper of the only political party admitted to the island, in addition to cryptocurrencies, other “strategic issues for the nation’s progress” were discussed. Among them is “the economic management model, investment policy, science, technology, innovation, its impacts on society and social policy.”

Although, so far, Cuba has not developed any State policy in relation to crypto assets, these are not unknown to the inhabitants of the Caribbean nation. The virtual communities of bitcoiners prove it.

For example, mention can be made of the Facebook group “Bitcoin Cuba”, founded in 2018, which has almost 6,000 members. There, users who seek to buy and sell BTC gather, mainly in person. There is also a self-titled group on Telegram with 3,500 members. Unfortunately, in both communities, among their publications, the disclosure of pyramid schemes with cryptocurrencies predominates.

Also, Google analytical data shows that interest in bitcoin among Cubans is growing and seems to have increased after the recent PCC congress. The Google Trends tool shows that searches for the term “bitcoin” would reach a maximum point so far in 2021 during the current week .

In Cuba there are at least two exchanges that allow the sale of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. This was recently reported by CriptoNoticias, along with the existence of specialized remittance companies that use BTC to send money to the island.

Bitcoin is not new to the PCC either. Already in 2014, when the popularity of the first cryptocurrency was notably lower than it currently has, an article published in Granma showed BTC as a possible candidate to dethrone the dollar as the main currency of the world economy.

Also in 2019, this communication body mentioned cryptocurrencies as possible tools to “resist the economic siege.” Beyond that mention, no measures were officially announced that include digital currencies.

Sam Brad

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