Venezuelan can now renew their Passport with Bitcoin as payment.

[posi]

Venezuelan citizens who are abroad can reportedly use Bitcoin to pay for passport services.

According to BTC transaction images posted on Twitter by Ronny Martinez, an engineer who hosts an academic YouTube channel, the Venezuelan government is allowing Bitcoin as a payment option for passport renewals and extensions via its online immigration platform SAIME (Administrative Service for Identification, Migration and Foreigners).

Source

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[AmoreJaz]

another day, another adoption.
of course, this kind of development is always welcome. it would attract their citizens who are noncrypto users to look at this option and maybe learn about crypto along the process. we need more of this kind of service. also it means their government is fully trusting bitcoin. if some of their constituents are still in doubt about crypto, they may change their stance on how they perceive it.

[dunfida]

another day, another adoption.
of course, this kind of development is always welcome. it would attract their citizens who are noncrypto users to look at this option and maybe learn about crypto along the process. we need more of this kind of service. also it means their government is fully trusting bitcoin. if some of their constituents are still in doubt about crypto, they may change their stance on how they perceive it.

Its a good news indeed and this thing shows that it is really possible to integrate bitcoin payments into these kind of service which would really ease the hassle.
Adoption is always on the move and we would really see in future years to come for other business,services to consider on making btc as a form of payment.
It might not be on all aspect but it would be nice if majority or big percentage will consider it out. This is a big convenience for all bitcoin users in Venezuela.

[Kelvinid]

Then it is to come the moment especially when contactless transactions are the new normal and most of it is made online transactions, it is a time where people will adopt the system and possible use of Bitcoin. Now that the Venezuelan government leaders are allowing it to use, it soon to be more adaptable into their country and most probably this could help to uplift the demand.

I foresaw a huge demand in crypto particularly for Bitcoin if this pandemic will stay longer. It can be more countries and companies will accept it as they rely into online transactions.

[Sadlife]

Venezuela is one of the few examples that Bitcoin can be viable for businesses and can be use for micro and macro transactions that can be regulated by Governments and Country's. The moment the financial markets gets worse with the continous printing of money we might see the current monetary system will be the same as Venezuela or Zimbabwe.

[NotATether]

It's good to see Venezuela embracing bitcoin after their disastrous Petro dollar initiative. I hope they learned a thing or two about encouraging citizens to use bitcoin, especially since they have a crumbling economy.

Although the article says it not confirmed whether SAIME will accept bitcoin payments so it's better to hold off the congratulatory remarks until we see a confirmation from their end.

[nicecrypto]

This is really great news because more use of btc means more adoption and more acceptance, this country is very crypto friendly so I believe this initiative will happen, this can also lead to more businesses and organizations accepting btc as well, soon other countries will also want to adopt the use of btc in some of their businesses.

[Darker45]

It is amusing how the Bitcoin payment option is offered to clients prior to credit card payment options.

However, I have a little confusion as to this:

Dear user, you selected payment with cryptocurrencies. Please keep in mind that you will only have 8 minutes to complete the transaction...

Does "complete the transaction" include payment confirmation? If it does, then this might be a concern since Bitcoin confirmation may actually exceed such limit at times.

Anyhow, the hyperinflation still happening in Venezuela really pushes for Bitcoin adoption there.

[witcher_sense]

However, I have a little confusion as to this:

Dear user, you selected payment with cryptocurrencies. Please keep in mind that you will only have 8 minutes to complete the transaction...

Does "complete the transaction" include payment confirmation? If it does, then this might be a concern since Bitcoin confirmation may actually exceed such limit at times.

It depends on the amount you have to pay for passport services. If there is a small amount, than it is okay to accept a payment with 0 confirmations. I am assuming that purchasing power of bolivar is decreasing too fast, that is why users have to pay as quickly as possible. The faster you pay, the more bitcoins they recieve. That is a good option for a service to mitigate risks of hyperinflation, they use bitcoin as a store of value in the first place, definitely not as a means of exchange. We are still far from that status of bitcoin. However, that is a promising sign for bitcoin since some governments have started considering bitcoin at least as an approach to save wealth.

[maydna]

Finally, one of the government company used bitcoin as the payment option. That is good news for every Venezuela people, especially for people who already knew bitcoin and used bitcoin. Soon, another government company will try this way too, and slowly the adoption process will grow in that country. If more countries can use bitcoin as Venezuela, it could bring new adopters from many countries, which means we will see the increasing number of people who use bitcoin.

It could attract people in that country to use to try to use bitcoin. Perhaps, that can make bitcoin popular in Venezuela.

Does "complete the transaction" include payment confirmation? If it does, then this might be a concern since Bitcoin confirmation may actually exceed such limit at times.

I think they can process the next step after the transaction gets 1-2 confirmation, so the officers and the people will not have to wait for a long time to complete the renewals and extensions process.

[Oasisman]

This only means one major thing, the Venezuelan government embraces Bitcoin as a legal currency to use in their country, though their civil registry hasn't fully accept Bitcoin, but I they will, sooner. This will make other governments from different countries very envious, thus will conduct research on what elements could Bitcoin contribute to a country's economic development.
Nevertheless, this will be a better way for massive adoption.
And it's very evident;

Bitcoin transaction volume in Venezuela on peer-to-peer crypto exchange LocalBitcoins has continued to soar, reaching an all-time high for the week ending June 6th with 997.7 billion bolivar.

[Lorence.xD]

This is really great news because more use of btc means more adoption and more acceptance, this country is very crypto friendly so I believe this initiative will happen, this can also lead to more businesses and organizations accepting btc as well, soon other countries will also want to adopt the use of btc in some of their businesses.

One of the few wonders of bitcoin, the good thing about this is that the payment for this is very helpful in their economic recovery because this will help in making an injection to their collapsed finances, I really that the Venezuelans get what they deserve, they are suffering because of the decisions of their government, they deserve better and I hope that bitcoin will be of big help in sustaining their country.

[bitbunnny]

It's a good initative, especialy because it comes from government. I don't know how much will that contribute to adoption of Bitcoin in Venezuela but it could be considered as a kind of progress.
However, the question is how many citizens will actually use possibility to pay for document with Bitcoin. If the overal number will be small the government might come to conclusion that this feature isn't necessary.

[KrisAlex18]

That's great news, it seems like bitcoin is being prominent as of this day. We have now many many payment transactions that accept bitcoin, well, there will be always an adoption for everything on bitcoin. Maybe soon we can use bitcoin for every transaction we have in our daily lives. It would be great if this thing would be implemented in other countries. It would make people more popular and known by many people, therefore there would be many users of the bitcoin which may result in good movement of the price of the other assets as well.
Bitcoin is really great an online transaction, itis good for safe and fast transactions.

another day, another adoption.
of course, this kind of development is always welcome. it would attract their citizens who are non-crypto users to look at this option and maybe learn about crypto along the process. we need more of this kind of service. also, it means their government is fully trusting bitcoin. if some of their constituents are still in doubt about crypto, they may change their stance on how they perceive it.

That would be an impact of this news. There would be many people who will use bitcoin because of this thing. The government is really good because they know the benefits of using this kind of cryptocurrency.

[plvbob0070]

One of the cases that we can actually see what bitcoin can really do in a community. Because of what happened in Venezuela and the ongoing hyperinflation, bitcoin becomes a good alternative for the citizens, and now the government is also trying to test the ability of bitcoin. Others might have not seen the importance of bitcoin before but during hyperinflation in their country, they have realized what bitcoin can do.

We have been hearing news about bitcoin acceptance in Venezuela, from individuals to businesses adopting crypto and bitcoin, no wonder why the government is also doing this. If this becomes successful, I guess this will also help other countries to recognize bitcoin and might as well try to adopt this innovation in the future.

[crwth]

So this means that their government is ultimately supporting cryptocurrency payments, And you could also say that they support Cryptocurrency in general. Hopefully, if this results in getting more people involved, I hope that every country would accept this type of payment for any kind of transaction.

For different countries watching the Venezuelan government, it’s the start for sure.

[stompix]

However, I have a little confusion as to this:

Dear user, you selected payment with cryptocurrencies. Please keep in mind that you will only have 8 minutes to complete the transaction...

Does "complete the transaction" include payment confirmation? If it does, then this might be a concern since Bitcoin confirmation may actually exceed such limit at times.
Anyhow, the hyperinflation still happening in Venezuela really pushes for Bitcoin adoption there.

This is what most payment processors do, they offer a time window in which you must create the transaction, it doesn't have to be confirmed, it just helps them do their balances as the moment the transaction is broadcast they are already selling a similar value of coins on the market to avoid losing $ from price fluctuations. With evey store I bought it was the same, just create the tx in a matter of 5 to 10 minutes and then wait, I had a a tx that didn't cofirmed for 8 hours but the moment it did I recieved imediatly the mail from the sotre that the purchase has been completed.

Besides, it might actually be impossible to get a confirmation in the next 8 minutes, for example just 4 blocks before (as I'm writing this) the time between block 636255 and 636256 was 35 minutes.

[CoinFoxs]

Indeed, its a very good initiative as now government is considering bitcoins as a payment option which will lead to massive btc adoption. I hope in near future there will be other platforms which will consider bitcoin as a form of making payments in exchange with goods or services. It is evident now that Venezuelan government is accepting bitcoins as a legal currency, now people will feel more safe and secure about cryptocurrencies.

[dentolas]

This is really nice as it represents trust on BTC from the venezuelan government... so if your government accepts payments in BTC, why wouldn't you? and this will also get a lot of people looking at this payment option and maybe learning about BTC and how to buy it...
Really good also because if the Venezuelan government adopts BTC as currency, we may be watching the beginning of a use case that we have all discussed about and never seen live, the economic recovery of a country with the help of BTC

[Lucius]

Venezuela is just looking for new ways to ease the sanctions imposed on them by the United States for more than a decade. Bitcoin is something that can help them do that, but the question is how many people in Venezuela actually have anything to do with Bitcoin. Weekly volume on their LocalBitcoins is just over 500 BTC, which is very modest for a country with almost 28.5 million inhabitants.

Bitcoin just can't solve their economic crisis, and the fact is that the average resident of that country can't afford to invest in BTC with a monthly salary of less than $10.

[boyptc]

If this is real news, it's actually good news.

Much better to accept bitcoin for this kind of renewal rather than them accepting tons of Venezuelan bolivar which will require every person to carry those cash.

[DabsPoorVersion]

If this is real news, it's actually good news.

Much better to accept bitcoin for this kind of renewal rather than them accepting tons of Venezuelan bolivar which will require every person to carry those cash.

I do agree,

though it is stated in the article posted by OP that this is not confirmed yet, however, it is already visible in their portal that they are accepting bitcoin as payment. What really amazes me is, they think of having the rule that the client should finish the transaction within 8 minutes if he/she uses bitcoin.  This can really help them a lot to avoid any problems such as the problem of sudden changes in price of crypto.

[Paycoinzzz]

Venezuelan citizens who are abroad can reportedly use Bitcoin to pay for passport services.

According to BTC transaction images posted on Twitter by Ronny Martinez, an engineer who hosts an academic YouTube channel, the Venezuelan government is allowing Bitcoin as a payment option for passport renewals and extensions via its online immigration platform SAIME (Administrative Service for Identification, Migration and Foreigners).

Source

That's good news but I really feel sorry for the people of Venezuela. they have a very bad government and do not know how to run the economy, make the currency devalued and must use bitcoin to be able to pay. You know, when you hold bitcoins, all your expenses and revenue are transformed by the second and it is never good. I just hope that Venezuela can revive earlier so that people can be at peace.

[Latviand]

Venezuela is one of the few examples that Bitcoin can be viable for businesses and can be use for micro and macro transactions that can be regulated by Governments and Country's. The moment the financial markets gets worse with the continous printing of money we might see the current monetary system will be the same as Venezuela or Zimbabwe.

ANOTHER BITCOIN ADOPTION! That's a good step for Venezuela to achieve full mass adoption of bitcoin. Although there are still people who are not that knowledgeable about it, by that mode of payment, people will have an idea what bitcoin is. Hopefully, the government should regulate this use of cryptocurrency in many transactions properly so that they will not have a hard time promoting it in many businesses. If most of the businesses in Venezuela are knowledgeable about bitcoin then probably, most of the people will use it as a quick and safe transactions. That's the reason why printing a lot of money is prohibited, inflation will occur in the market.

[Leviathan.007]

Venezuela is experiencing economic crisis just like any other country in the world. US sanctions are also taking this country under pressure. But, in this time Bitcoin is helping this nation in order to pass the crisis and sanctions times. In other worlds, bitcoin is helping them to survive. That's because of the government decided embraces Bitcoin as a new legal technology in their country. Renewal on the passport is just one simple example of the solutions.

[boyptc]

If this is real news, it's actually good news.

Much better to accept bitcoin for this kind of renewal rather than them accepting tons of Venezuelan bolivar which will require every person to carry those cash.

I do agree,

though it is stated in the article posted by OP that this is not confirmed yet, however, it is already visible in their portal that they are accepting bitcoin as payment. What really amazes me is, they think of having the rule that the client should finish the transaction within 8 minutes if he/she uses bitcoin.  This can really help them a lot to avoid any problems such as the problem of sudden changes in price of crypto.

Paying in cash there is terrible.

I have watched a video that most people there are transacting cashless so this is possible and viable news. But, we have to wait for further confirmation.

[davis196]

Venezuelan citizens who are abroad can reportedly use Bitcoin to pay for passport services.

According to BTC transaction images posted on Twitter by Ronny Martinez, an engineer who hosts an academic YouTube channel, the Venezuelan government is allowing Bitcoin as a payment option for passport renewals and extensions via its online immigration platform SAIME (Administrative Service for Identification, Migration and Foreigners).

Source

That's great.I've never expected that the Venezuelan government will adopt BTC payments for such administrative services.I hope that this is going to be the beginning of a total Bitcoin adoption in Venezuela,since the national currency(bolivar) isn't stable enough.
Too sad that such countries turn to Bitcoin only in times of crisis and after trying all the other options,like the PETRO oil-backed currency,that failed miserably.

[Arkann]

In fact, in Venezuela, the use of cryptocurrency has been very actively developing since the beginning of 2020. As an example, we can recall the signing of an agreement on the sale of oil for the national cryptocurrency Ell Petro, and it was President Maduro who initiated this transaction. In addition, Maduro has repeatedly stated that they will continue to trade in oil in the future with the help of cryptocurrency, including using bitcoin, in order to circumvent US sanctions.
Of course, if we talk about a specific situation, namely the permission to issue passports using Bitcoin, then there was information that such a function was no longer available, but nevertheless, several users managed to use it. In addition, certain publications state that perhaps the migration service plans to create such an opportunity specifically for foreign citizens who can use Bitcoin, since not all Venezuelan citizens have the opportunity to buy Bitcoin.

[witcher_sense]

If this is real news, it's actually good news.

Much better to accept bitcoin for this kind of renewal rather than them accepting tons of Venezuelan bolivar which will require every person to carry those cash.

It is definitely much better for a government in Venezuela to accept bitcoin instead of useless cash. Bitcoin is very liquid and value-preserving asset, it can be exchanged to bolivars any time without loses in purchasing power. From that point of view, I don't see any reason for common people in Venezuela to start paying for services using valuable assets like Bitcoin, because there is always a better option for them such as to spend bad money first. Many believe that Venezuelan government wants to adopt bitcoin, I think it is a wrong assumption. In my opinion, what they really want is to seize sound money, which is bitcoin, from the country's population while hiding behind the idea of ​​accepting cryptocurrencies.

[kryptqnick]

Venezuelan citizens who are abroad can reportedly use Bitcoin to pay for passport services.

According to BTC transaction images posted on Twitter by Ronny Martinez, an engineer who hosts an academic YouTube channel, the Venezuelan government is allowing Bitcoin as a payment option for passport renewals and extensions via its online immigration platform SAIME (Administrative Service for Identification, Migration and Foreigners).

Source

This level of acceptance is truly great, but it's sad that it's only present in a country with such a destroyed economy and reputation... And I am not sure how many people would want to restore their Venezuelan passports, given the situation in that country.
At the same time, it's not surprising that Venezuela made this move since they have been embracing cryptos for a while now. Their centralized altcoin failed, so Bitcoin seems like a good solution. But unfortunately, Bitcoin cannot solve their problems, this requires fundamental changes of the system.

[Ulven]

Venezuelan citizens who are abroad can reportedly use Bitcoin to pay for passport services.

According to BTC transaction images posted on Twitter by Ronny Martinez, an engineer who hosts an academic YouTube channel, the Venezuelan government is allowing Bitcoin as a payment option for passport renewals and extensions via its online immigration platform SAIME (Administrative Service for Identification, Migration and Foreigners).

Source

This level of acceptance is truly great, but it's sad that it's only present in a country with such a destroyed economy and reputation... And I am not sure how many people would want to restore their Venezuelan passports, given the situation in that country.
At the same time, it's not surprising that Venezuela made this move since they have been embracing cryptos for a while now. Their centralized altcoin failed, so Bitcoin seems like a good solution. But unfortunately, Bitcoin cannot solve their problems, this requires fundamental changes of the system.

I share your opinion, I think Venezuela currently needs a political solution and regime change, Bitcoin cannot contribute to solving the country's economic problems. But it remains good news for the Venezuelans, who work in the field of cryptocurrencies and also for those residing outside the country!

[canaris1985]

One of the rare moments, when the whole state turns to BTC not cause it wants to, but cause it has to

[posi]

Venezuelan citizens who are abroad can reportedly use Bitcoin to pay for passport services.

According to BTC transaction images posted on Twitter by Ronny Martinez, an engineer who hosts an academic YouTube channel, the Venezuelan government is allowing Bitcoin as a payment option for passport renewals and extensions via its online immigration platform SAIME (Administrative Service for Identification, Migration and Foreigners).

Source

This level of acceptance is truly great, but it's sad that it's only present in a country with such a destroyed economy and reputation... And I am not sure how many people would want to restore their Venezuelan passports, given the situation in that country.
At the same time, it's not surprising that Venezuela made this move since they have been embracing cryptos for a while now. Their centralized altcoin failed, so Bitcoin seems like a good solution. But unfortunately, Bitcoin cannot solve their problems, this requires fundamental changes of the system.

It is sad that the country in the subject economy is currently meltdown but i think making crypto as part of the payment system of activities done in the country would limit the level of the economic meltdown and will also make Venezuelan rely more on cryptocurrency than their national currency.

[shata]

The online payment for Venezuela passport was temporarily unavailable without valid explanation according to the news released by Cointelegraph.

For the record, bitcoin and other online transaction is the better way for Venezuela country right now, knowing its rough times, as the country experienced hyperinflation. However, online payment should be efficient to sustain its transactions to its stakeholders.

[DdmrDdmr]

The context though is to accept BTC for passport renewals for those Venezuelan citizens living abroad (not living on Venezuelan soil). The scope of the news is therefore more limited than may seem at first glance, and is probably thought-out as a means to bypass sanctions, even if it is on a small scale in this case.
 
The problems with the site being down are thought to be related to actually adapting BTC as a payment method on the platform itself.

[ChiBitCTy]

Thanks for bringing this to our attention.  Of all countries, Venezuela certainly is one nation that could use bitcoin to a major advantage for their battered nation.  This is not unique to their government however, you can actually pay you taxes in bitcoin here in the United States.

[kawetsriyanto]

First, it is about regulation in the country. if the Bitcoin is legal for both payment and also a digital asset of investment, this case will be so easy. Moreover when there are many more merchants or parties that accept BTC as payment. I believe that the adoption of BTC and the blockchain technology will grow as easy as possible moreover rin that country. And fr the Venezuela, congratulation. your country has deserved good taking decisions to allow BTC as one of the transaction methods.

[Yaunfitda]

That's odd tough, because of this article:

https://fintechranking.com/2020/06/26/btc-payments-disabled-for-passports-in-venezuela/

Venezuela’s SAIME has recently halted accepting Bitcoins for passport applications. The officials have disabled methods without explanation and people were unable to find the relevant information on the official website.

The situation is very vague and so far there has not been any official announcement. Venezuelans living in the country can still pay for passport applications with the Blockchain-based Petro.

It should be pointed out that U.S. based cards such as Mastercard and Visa are unable to conduct business in the country. As there is a row between the United States and Venezuela the former put a lot of sanctions against Nicolas Maduro’s country, thus preventing famous companies like Visa to operate there.

So initially they have accepted BTC as payment method and then immediately stop it without giving the public an explanation? Maybe they are overwhelmed or something, so we will have to wait for some update from them.

[Bitstar_coin]

Venezuela is just looking for new ways to ease the sanctions imposed on them by the United States for more than a decade. Bitcoin is something that can help them do that, but the question is how many people in Venezuela actually have anything to do with Bitcoin. Weekly volume on their LocalBitcoins is just over 500 BTC, which is very modest for a country with almost 28.5 million inhabitants.

Bitcoin just can't solve their economic crisis, and the fact is that the average resident of that country can't afford to invest in BTC with a monthly salary of less than $10.

Well I guess now that it has been introduced the people of Venezuela will just have to start learning how to use btc, there is always a first-time in everything, maybe if this option was not introduced, many in that country still won't find the need to understand and really learn what btc is all about, and this also applies to many other countries that have very few people interested in btc,

Sometimes it is good to have a reason for getting involved in something, maybe other countries should emulate this attitude and introduce btc as an option for payment in some important businesses or organizations that will compel people to want to use btc, the more people getting to know and use btc the higher the chances of adoption.

[Pamadar]

Venezuelan citizens who are abroad can reportedly use Bitcoin to pay for passport services.

According to BTC transaction images posted on Twitter by Ronny Martinez, an engineer who hosts an academic YouTube channel, the Venezuelan government is allowing Bitcoin as a payment option for passport renewals and extensions via its online immigration platform SAIME (Administrative Service for Identification, Migration and Foreigners).

Source

Venezuelan Government is continuously supporting Bitcoin so no wonder why everything in their government specifically regarding payments will be available.
Though this news is not yet confirmed By Venezuela government but for sure this seems to be legit.

That's odd tough, because of this article:

https://fintechranking.com/2020/06/26/btc-payments-disabled-for-passports-in-venezuela/

Damn that's really frustrating,what about those who acquire the offer and being pending now because of the stopping?they are just making things worst lol.

[buwaytress]

First, guy posts old news. Like, really old. Then people here mainly say wow what a good thing, when the most recent news actually says the payment's been disabled.

But here's what really happened: at some point govt adds Bitcoin as an option for payment. And then at some other more recent point, that option was disabled. Wasn't removed, just disabled.

Neither event was announced, so it's just like a news story that says: Profile lookup disabled on forum. Panic ensues.

[adzino]

Something they should have done years ago. Based on their current situation, it is nothing surprising to see them move to crypto currency. Their whole fiat currency system started to mess up ever since they started printing bolivar fuerte. Replacing the currency to bolivar soberano did help much to be honest.
I guess this is one step closer by the Venezuelan government to adopt crypto currencies?

[boyptc]

If this is real news, it's actually good news.

Much better to accept bitcoin for this kind of renewal rather than them accepting tons of Venezuelan bolivar which will require every person to carry those cash.

It is definitely much better for a government in Venezuela to accept bitcoin instead of useless cash. Bitcoin is very liquid and value-preserving asset, it can be exchanged to bolivars any time without loses in purchasing power. From that point of view, I don't see any reason for common people in Venezuela to start paying for services using valuable assets like Bitcoin, because there is always a better option for them such as to spend bad money first. Many believe that Venezuelan government wants to adopt bitcoin, I think it is a wrong assumption. In my opinion, what they really want is to seize sound money, which is bitcoin, from the country's population while hiding behind the idea of ​​accepting cryptocurrencies.

The hyperinflation is actually causing them to get into a cashless society and as much as they want to preserve the value of bitcoin, they just can't if they don't have other resources to sustain their living.

The news sounds good if the government is going to pass it because I've heard in various interviews that there's mistreatment for people who own and earns through bitcoin when found out.

[Negotiation]

Bitcoin is a very good currency for investment In most countries of the world it is much easier to earn as much as the demand for Bitcoin If Venezuela accepts bitcoin their country will improve a lot with crypto. Everyone in their country will use bitcoin as cash and no one will be able to operate it illegally The government has taken the passport system that it has taken much better steps In this case hacking will be less and saving the value of the coin is much easier.

[Artemis3]

That's odd tough, because of this article:

https://fintechranking.com/2020/06/26/btc-payments-disabled-for-passports-in-venezuela/

Venezuela’s SAIME has recently halted accepting Bitcoins for passport applications. The officials have disabled methods without explanation and people were unable to find the relevant information on the official website.

The situation is very vague and so far there has not been any official announcement. Venezuelans living in the country can still pay for passport applications with the Blockchain-based Petro.

It should be pointed out that U.S. based cards such as Mastercard and Visa are unable to conduct business in the country. As there is a row between the United States and Venezuela the former put a lot of sanctions against Nicolas Maduro’s country, thus preventing famous companies like Visa to operate there.

So initially they have accepted BTC as payment method and then immediately stop it without giving the public an explanation? Maybe they are overwhelmed or something, so we will have to wait for some update from them.

This has all the signs of a fake news. As soon as this was reported, someone else tried and it was down. Was it really up in the first place?

Let me tell you something about Saime for non Venezuelans. The gov ordered them to set prices in Petro, and yes, they take the equivalent in Fiat or foreign currency. A passport is 200 USD in foreign soil, for example.

Here is the funny thing: You can't actually pay with Petros. Let alone bitcoin or any altcoin. This news apparently was only applicable abroad, not within the country. It kinda makes sense, as usually at a consulate or embassy you could always pay with the local currency of that country or $/€.

Despite all the cheers, so far, this is not true at all. Saime at this point in time is NOT accepting bitcoin. So stop congratulating my country's gov until they actually deliver. You CANNOT as of yet that we know, pay Saime with bitcoin. I wish i could, it would save me the stupid ritual of exchanging into fiat first, but no.

As far as i know, the only gov entity that actually takes bitcoin for anything, is the one where you can purchase Petros. Its pointless to buy Petros when you can't even pay the gov itself with it for a passport or anything else for that matter. I think the only real thing you can currently do with Petro is buy gasoline, it was scarce just a few weeks ago but Iran sent us a shipment despite US threats, and the gov set up a few special stations that can take foreign currency, and (in theory) Petros.

That said, it would be technically trivial for a consulate/embassy to set up a payment processor, remember they have always taken USD or EUR...

Side note: $200 is twice the usual cost for a passport that's only valid for 5 years, they cost the same in Venezuela, the country where the minimum monthly wage is officially 2 USD (400K VES/400K food tickets). Because "in socialism", only the rich exploiter is allowed travel (before the pandemic anyway).

PS: The current VES/BTC rate according to Localbitcoins, is about 19 VES per Satoshi. Yeah, our fiat is so worthless, you need 19 units of it to purchase a single Satoshi. And yes, we express prices just fine, to those deniers about the satoshi being an unfeasible unit.

[Bradoets]

I heard that this option is available to foreigners from outside the country and not to all citizens of Venezuela.
such decisions will affect the exchange rate, More people will sell Venezuelan pullovers and buy more dollars due to the collapse of the exchange rate?
small of Venezuelan know about bitcoin and those who know about it only know how bitcoin price can change and give them more money.
another day, another adoption

[verita1]

I am Venezuelan and this alternative payment to carry out passport services seems good to me. But I criticize the government for setting the exchange rate in Euro and not in US dollars. Bitcoin's price in euro is lower than in dollars.
Remesas Patria is a platform that Venezuelans can send remittances in Bitcoin and litecoin directly to their bank accounts.
Take a look to compare prices.

https://remesas.patria.org.ve/es/login

[verita1]

I just verified the bitcoin payment method was disabled without any explanation.
The government will not accept Bitcoin as a means of payment, it prefers to boost the Petro $ PTR. It would have to create demand and usability.

https://es.cointelegraph.com/news/btc-payments-reportedly-now-disabled-for-venezuelan-passport-purchases

Official statement that ratifies the payment methods for Venezuelan passport services. Banks (Banco de Venezuela, Banesco, BanFanb) and Petro. The price of a Petro set by the government is $ 58.80.

https://twitter.com/VenezuelaSaime/status/1275915489290657794

[Shasha80]

Very glad I heard this good news, because more and more are adopting bitcoin. To my knowledge venezuelan is indeed a country that is
open with bitcoin. This way bitcoin will be more useful and this is very good for the future of bitcoin. If more and more countries who adopt
bitcoin like venezuelan, I'm very sure the price of bitcoin will continue to rise.

[Cointikka]

Venezuelan economic condition is in a pretty bad state. Their own fiat currency does not have any value and that is why they are trying alternate options. I doubt they will be accepting Bitcoin when they are promoting their own cryptocurrency.

[htsy585]

Venezuelan citizens who are abroad can reportedly use Bitcoin to pay for passport services.

According to BTC transaction images posted on Twitter by Ronny Martinez, an engineer who hosts an academic YouTube channel, the Venezuelan government is allowing Bitcoin as a payment option for passport renewals and extensions via its online immigration platform SAIME (Administrative Service for Identification, Migration and Foreigners).

Source

This is really a good news for the entire crypto community. with each day passing, we see more and more of crypto adoptions and now it is onto another level as the government of Venezuela just adopt the use of bitcoin for the renewal of Venezuela password. I'm sure it won't take much time before other governments across the globe follow suite with the adoption of bitcoin for payment of transactions

[Slow death]

I am asking myself the following:

If a person in venezuela has bitcoin, that person will think about doing Hold to get more profit because with crisis that exists in venezuela the best thing that people should do is some business that makes them profit and if bitcoin can give them profit with trade and hodl why would they stop making hodl to pay for a passport that they can pay with their country's Fiat?

I really think it's a good initiative from the Venezuelan government, but I would like to see statistics on how many people from Venezuela are going to pay their passports with bitcoin

[Oceat]

First, guy posts old news. Like, really old. Then people here mainly say wow what a good thing, when the most recent news actually says the payment's been disabled.

But here's what really happened: at some point govt adds Bitcoin as an option for payment. And then at some other more recent point, that option was disabled. Wasn't removed, just disabled.

Neither event was announced, so it's just like a news story that says: Profile lookup disabled on forum. Panic ensues.

I wonder why they stopped though? It seems to me that they either struggle to process the payment due to the high volatility of prices or they can't handle the miners fee alone when Bitcoin price is growing. I think they are working something to get it back as soon as possible so that the people who uses Bitcoin can enjoy the privilege of transaction straight from their wallet address.

I remember Valve stopped accepting Bitcoin on Steam back then when they can't handle the miners fee that keeps on growing each day since Bitcoin that time was too bullish and it's high fluctuation rate. This may be the reason too that's why Venezuelan stop accepting Bitcoin to renew some passport.

[Harlot]

Why are most of the post out here assuming that the government of Venezuela accepts Bitcoin because it is related to crypto adoption? Remember that Venezuela has a issue about hyperinflation and ever since then they have started accepting other fiat currencies in their country as a legal tender like the US and also Euro so there is no surprise that they will be also accepting Bitcoin as a payment because literally you need to bring stacks of Bolivar just for you to buy grocery so this really isn't ideal for them, they either use debit cards or other currencies as means of payment. The bottomline is this isn't about adoption but their alternative solution as a payment due to hyperinflation.

[stompix]

Despite all the cheers, so far, this is not true at all. Saime at this point in time is NOT accepting bitcoin. So stop congratulating my country's gov until they actually deliver. You CANNOT as of yet that we know, pay Saime with bitcoin. I wish i could, it would save me the stupid ritual of exchanging into fiat first, but no.

So the miracle lasted a few hours

I was a bit suspicious since SAIME posted this on their Instagram account just a few days ago
https://www.instagram.com/p/CB1ZIMcH635/

I saw petro, probably some banking apps but no BTC


Maybe they were testing how crypto payments would work and since they don't have a payment gateway for petro they tried to see how it works with bitcoin?
A bit far-fetched but this is the only scenario I consider remotely possible.

but I would like to see statistics on how many people from Venezuela are going to pay their passports with bitcoin

Well, according to what artemis3 says, and he is from Venezuela, I can make a pretty good guess..0!

[abhiseshakana]

Why are most of the post out here assuming that the government of Venezuela accepts Bitcoin because it is related to crypto adoption? Remember that Venezuela has a issue about hyperinflation and ever since then they have started accepting other fiat currencies in their country as a legal tender like the US and also Euro so there is no surprise that they will be also accepting Bitcoin as a payment because literally you need to bring stacks of Bolivar just for you to buy grocery so this really isn't ideal for them, they either use debit cards or other currencies as means of payment. The bottomline is this isn't about adoption but their alternative solution as a payment due to hyperinflation.

I think the adoption of bitcoin in Venezuela is due to TINA (there is no alternative). As a result of a total economic embargo from the US to Venezuela. Become a solution because of the lack of alternative cross-border payments except using the swift system. Maduro also admitted that Venezuela needed dollars to maintain economic stability.

[Kakmakr]

I think the Venezuelan government is just too happy to accept any alternative currency that can hold it's value. The local currency are even more volatile than Bitcoin and if you do this through payment processors, then the volatility will not be an issue.

This article --> https://fintechranking.com/2020/06/26/btc-payments-disabled-for-passports-in-venezuela/ says to me that they reconsidered their acceptance or it ran into trouble. Bitcoin is pseudo-anonymous, so Passport fraud will be much easier if you pay with Bitcoin and if you not doing this through a payment processor.  

I think they did not consider the volatility and the conversion took too long to convert it back to Fiat, so they lost income. (Lots of new merchants made this same mistake)  

[Vatimins]

     Ahh.. it's always so refreshing hearing news like this one despite all the bad things happening both in the real world and in this industry. I just wish though that this is truly a lasting and ascending step for this industry and not just something temporary because I have seen good news such as this that either turns out to be fake or doesn't improve or gets terminated in a way. It's just sad. But still though, progress is progress. Wish these kind of news also gets to happen here in my country.

[AakZaki]

~snip~ so Passport fraud will be much easier if you pay with Bitcoin and if you not doing this through a payment processor.  
~snip~

The positive and negative impacts of adopting bitcoin for payment of passport and other renewals will remain. Like the negative impact you mentioned about passport fraud which will be much easier if payment uses Bitcoin. Just like money laundering. Adoption is carried out indeed needs to be analyzed again and in the proper regulation so that it does not have negative adverse effects.

[Harlot]

Why are most of the post out here assuming that the government of Venezuela accepts Bitcoin because it is related to crypto adoption? Remember that Venezuela has a issue about hyperinflation and ever since then they have started accepting other fiat currencies in their country as a legal tender like the US and also Euro so there is no surprise that they will be also accepting Bitcoin as a payment because literally you need to bring stacks of Bolivar just for you to buy grocery so this really isn't ideal for them, they either use debit cards or other currencies as means of payment. The bottomline is this isn't about adoption but their alternative solution as a payment due to hyperinflation.

I think the adoption of bitcoin in Venezuela is due to TINA (there is no alternative). As a result of a total economic embargo from the US to Venezuela. Become a solution because of the lack of alternative cross-border payments except using the swift system. Maduro also admitted that Venezuela needed dollars to maintain economic stability.

Whatever exact reason it is it is not about what others have previously said about the Venezuelan government trying to adopt cryptocurrency but it is more about them having a solution for their economical crisis. A lot of members failed to see what the current situation of Venezuela is that the value of their own fiat currency is so low that they can't even carry it anymore to buy grocery from that's why digital payments like Bitcoin has been made possible because of it.

[7788bitcoin]

The positive and negative impacts of adopting bitcoin for payment of passport and other renewals will remain. Like the negative impact you mentioned about passport fraud which will be much easier if payment uses Bitcoin. Just like money laundering. Adoption is carried out indeed needs to be analyzed again and in the proper regulation so that it does not have negative adverse effects.

I do not understand this passport fraud situation, you are providing all your details while applying for your passport including your national identification details and all you do is make the payment using bitcoin if they are accepting that option and where does the fraud happens, if it happens in the payment then they are not going to get the passport and if they provide fake document then too they are not going to get the passport and may be jail time along with, so where does the fraud happens if they accept bitcoin as payment .

[Vishnu.Reang]

We need to understand that they are not doing it because of the love for Bitcoin. They are running short of money and as a result the regime would accept funds in any format, from any source. A few months back, they tried to sell their gold reserves. But it was not much successful, because the Venezuelan gold reserves are located in England. The British government refused to hand over the gold. Also, there are rumors that Maduro and his proxies are smuggling cocaine to Central America (Belize especially, from where the contraband will be transported to the United States). They looks really desperate.

[AniviaBtc]

another day, another adoption.
of course, this kind of development is always welcome. it would attract their citizens who are noncrypto users to look at this option and maybe learn about crypto along the process. we need more of this kind of service. also it means their government is fully trusting bitcoin. if some of their constituents are still in doubt about crypto, they may change their stance on how they perceive it.

THIS IS WHAT WE NEED RIGHT NOW! Although we are experiencing pandemic, we are still working for more bitcoin adoption.

Due to the convenience and effectiveness of bitcoin as a non-contact payment tool, it is really guaranteed for most of the transactions that we are going to do. This is a good idea as people are really having a hard time to pay their bills or to process their papers due to this quarantine. As passports are regulated by the authority, most probably, the Venezuelan government understands how important bitcoin is in the economy. Imagine, they put it into their payment option so that people will lessen their hassle, plus it increases the mass adoption of this cryptocurrency.

[boyptc]

They killed own currency and now crypto is the only one they have

Their own currency which is the Venezuelan Bolivar got highly inflated due to their economic status. The hyperinflation made their money worthless. People are surviving still despite the situation.

They even had their own crypto before which was called 'Petro' but it didn't do any good.

[dimonstration]

We need to understand that they are not doing it because of the love for Bitcoin. They are running short of money and as a result the regime would accept funds in any format, from any source. A few months back, they tried to sell their gold reserves. But it was not much successful, because the Venezuelan gold reserves are located in England. The British government refused to hand over the gold. Also, there are rumors that Maduro and his proxies are smuggling cocaine to Central America (Belize especially, from where the contraband will be transported to the United States). They looks really desperate.

They were still experimenting now  on what will suit their country best as it's been long that their currency seems worthless due to inflation. They been trying harder to survive whether adapting crypto can help them as having their own crypto currency before were not successful. Accepting Bitcoin as their payment may not not help their economy but atleast will ease the problem for their people to have a system to buy and pay their bills properly.

[LUCKMCFLY]

The Venezuelan government however wants to obtain liquidity, dollars, euros, bitcoin, everything that represents money for them is welcome, now more with the blockade that exists on the part of the USA, now they have stronger problems with the gasoline they import where ships Iranians are blocked.

On the part of wanting to implement payments through Bitcoin is the ideal solution, because they can change it to any foreign currency other than the Bolivars, where they criticize the dollar for being a capitalist economy but they want them.

Through Bitcoin they can benefit, in fact they tried through the failed petro, it is contradictory that now a government loves the benefits of Bitcoin, but in Venezuela the economy is uncontrolled and any economic folly in any country, in Venezuela is normal.

[LbtalkL]

This is really cool, some countries are banning crypto but some are adopting it like this one, Digital payments really does a big help in this situation, we have pandemic now and it helps not to engage personally and avoid contact with other people. Issuing passport in manage by the government so this means government is accepting crypto? which benefits us all, I hope this news is not over hype or fake.

[Swordsoffreedom]

I think it is a big achievement for Bitcoin. The Venezuelan government has approved Bitcoin for their government work. I think they realize the golden future of BTC.  We are now living in an ocean of technology and it's increasing day by day.  If we want to keep pace with technology, we need an alternative of fiat money and that is cryptocurrency or BTC. The demand of Bitcoin is growing worldwide continuously. That's why many governments are conscious about its future and popularity. many countries already legalize it and I think within 5 to 10 years all the government will legalize it and bitcoin will be the better alternative to fiat money.
what do you think?

[scottt0m]

It is not happy news, as governments seek to obtain funds in any way that they accept payment in bitcoin or local currencies in gold or silver or their equivalent value if they want to get the money and they can describe it as a fraud or a ponzi project if they cannot impose the appropriate legislation.

Venezuelans can exchange bitcoin for local currencies and buy whatever they want.
they can give it to them or hodl it for longer time.