Pietro Paolini
Tearsheet
2022
Pietro Paolini
Tearsheet
2022
Venezuela, 2022. A view of Parque Central in Caracas
The heterogeneous world of cryptocurrencies, NFTs and blockchain in Venezuela.
Amidst its worst economic crisis, Venezuela launched the Petro in 2018, the world’s first state-backed digital currency. Meanwhile, cheap electricity fueled a surge in Bitcoin mining, making it profitable even at a small scale.
With hyperinflation devaluing savings—reaching 6,500% in 2020—many Venezuelans turned to the US dollar (now used in 66% of transactions) and cryptocurrencies. Venezuela ranked third in Chainalysis’ 2020 Global Crypto Adoption Index due to high bolivar-to-crypto trade volumes. Binance’s P2P transactions in bolivars rose by 75% in early 2020.
Cryptocurrencies are widely used for remittances, digital payments, and even wages. Businesses like Pizza Hut and supermarkets accept Bitcoin and Dash, while artists and gamers leverage NFTs for income. With over half the population unbanked, crypto offers financial access via mobile apps.
While some see it as a tool for money laundering, others view it as a crucial economic lifeline—one of the few thriving industries in the country, independent of political affiliation.
Maracay, Venezuela, 2021. Luis started with Cryptocurrencies and mining 4 years ago, now is learning how to repair hashboards for bitcoin mining.
Venezuela, 2022. The construction of a mining farm that will host 2240 machines to mine Bitcoin. The company DoctorMiner, was born in 2016 from Theodoro Toukoumidis and Juan Jose Pinto. It deals with mining and hosting projects. They have created the first mining pool of Latin America.
Caracas, Venezuela, 2021. A graphic card to mine Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies.
Maracay, Venezuela, 2021. Leonardo Bracho, 21 years old, plays Axie Infinity, one the most diffused Play to Earn games, based on NFT technology. He play since 5 months and can gain 200-400$ per month.
Venezuela, 2022. An active farm in Yaracui with 1100 Bitcoin mining machines. The company was born in 2016 from Theodoro Toukoumidis and Juan Jose Pinto. It deals with mining and hosting projects. They have created the first mining pool of Latin America.
Caracas, Venezuela, 2021. The production center of Coin Factory. The company founded in 2020 by Alexander Castrillon, produces containers fully equipped for bitcoin mining, they also propose host and techical services.
Yaracuy, Venezuela, 2022. Power sources in a technical office of the company DoctorMiner. The company was born in 2016 from Theodoro Toukoumidis and Juan Jose Pinto. It deals with mining and hosting projects. They have created the first mining pool of Latin America.
Caracas, Venezuela, 2021. Nestor, 29 years old, work since two months as welder at Coin Factory. The company founded in 2020 by Alexander Castrillon, produce containers fully equipped for bitcoin mining, they also propose host and techical services.
Caracas, Venezuela, 2021. A container ready for cryptocurrencies mining produced by Coin Factory, a company founded in 2020 by Alexander Castrillon. The company produce container fully equipped for bitcoin mining, they also propose host and techical services.
Publications on Newsweek Japan, L’Espresso
