Venezuelan international airport reportedly preparing to accept Bitcoin
An international airport in Venezuela is preparing to start accepting cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin as payment for tickets and other services.
According to the report, Simón Bolívar International Airport is working to enable cryptocurrency payments to comply with local industry standards. Also known as Maiquetia, the airport is located in downtown Caracas, the capital of Venezuela.
Freddy Borges, the airport director said that the airport plans to accept many cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Dash, and Venezuela’s oil-pegged digital currency, the Petro. He said that the airport’s administration would introduce new payment options in coordination with Venezuela’s National Superintendence of Crypto Assets and Related Activities.
Crypto adoption at the Maiquetia airport would mark the company’s commitment to advance toward international standards and drive digital currency adoption, Borges noted. According to the executive, the crypto payment option would benefit foreign tourists, including those from Russia.
“We must advance in these new economic and technological systems to be accessible,” Borges reportedly stated.
The news comes amid Venezuela experimenting with a central bank digital currency (CBDC), with the country’s central bank launching the digital Venezuelan bolivar on Oct. 1. Unlike other CBDC, which are pegged to a country’s national currency, the Petro is an oil-backed cryptocurrency launched by the government in February 2018.
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