Expanding Reach and Increasing Accessibility in Economically Unstable Regions
New York, NY – January 8 – Dash, the top digital currency for payments, today announced an integration with the leading Latin American exchange, BitINKA, providing citizens across Central and South America access to buy and sell Dash using their local fiat currency. The South American-based exchange, which works with 35 banks across 12 countries, will allow greater access to Dash in Latin America, particularly valuable in countries suffering from economic turmoil. The integration comes at a time where inflation in Venezuela has reached an all-time high. According to the Finance and Economic Development Permanent Parliamentary Committee of Venezuela, inflation has reached a record 1,370 percent for 2017 and 56.7 percent for November. Argentina concurrently is at 21 percent inflation for November. The integration of Dash onto BitINKA will provide citizens of Latin American countries a decentralized alternative to government-issued banknotes, complete with InstantSend functionality, and secure, near fee-free transactions.
CEO of Dash Core, Ryan Taylor, said, “There are tremendous benefits to the increasing use of digital currencies to developing countries. Transaction fees on the Dash network are incredibly low compared with other digital financial services. Even small amounts of transaction savings can make a real difference to the economies of developing markets. More importantly, developing countries are frequently burdened with some of the highest rates of inflation. So far, digital currencies like Dash have proven to be a superior store of value compared with consistently devaluing national currencies. Combined, this stability can provide significant benefits to users and the economy as a whole to improve lives. As Dash continues to grow in relevance throughout the region, we think BitINKA can offer much needed access for users. We plan to continue exploring new ways for Dash and BitINKA to collaborate further across the full suite of services BitINKA offers.”
Dash, currently experiencing record highs in value, liquidity and global demand, has established itself as the digital currency of choice for payments, as well as a viable financial alternative for hundreds of thousands of unbanked and underbanked people across the world.
CEO of BitINKA, Roger Benites said, “The global demand for cryptocurrencies is exploding. BitINKA has received an overwhelming demand for Dash. Dash’s InstantSend transactions and low fees will be beneficial for users moving cryptocurrencies into and from our platform. We are working towards bringing this technology to all Latin Americans, and our partnership with Dash will do just that.”
“Now, we are heading to conquer Europe and Asia. We have been working in this regions for quite some time but now we have everything prepared to go big – really big. We will be adding a lot of improvements and disruptive features to our platform. 2018 will be a great year for BitINKA.”
Director of Global Business Development of Dash Core, Bradley Zastrow said, “The exciting part for me is the opportunity to make a real positive difference in the lives of everyday people. The remittance market into South America is huge – Brazil and Colombia alone are estimated to reach $8.2 billion in 2017 according to the latest forecasts from the World Bank. Yet these payments are often attached to high fees, less than favorable exchange rates, and long wait times. We have seen the negative impacts high inflation can have on people and entire economies. Dash offers solutions to both these issues through its low transaction fees, InstantSend functionality, and its historically strong store of value.”
As part of this integration, BitINKA is adding Dash to its cross border payments and remittance platform, InkaPay, as well as its cryptocurrency powered debit card service. Customers will be able to be paid in Dash and immediately convert into other digital currencies, and from January 25, top up BitINKA debit cards with Dash.
Head of Legal of Dash Core, Fernando Gutierrez said, “BitINKA is making it possible to use Dash with local currencies that previously did not have direct access. Latin America is especially important for us because many its countries tend to have weak currencies, and people are increasingly aware of the importance of access to digital currency.”
About Dash:
Dash is the leading e-commerce and payments-focused digital currency, and the rising alternative to bitcoin. With over 1000% year over year growth in both value and trading volume since 2015, Dash has been consistently ranked in the top ten digital currencies by market capitalization and only one of the few offering safe, decentralized financial solutions to real world problems. Dash offers a form of money that is portable, inexpensive, divisible, and fast. It can be spent easily and instantly online at merchants across the globe, at much lower fees than credit and debit cards. With over 50 members on the development team and a unique blockchain mining and treasury model, Dash is the only major self-funded, self-governed organization in the cryptocurrency industry. This allows for constant development and funding for the entire project so community members can upload and vote on proposals, and if they are approved, they are paid for directly from the blockchain. Dash plans to unveil their landmark product Dash Evolution, the industry’s first easy to use decentralized payments platform in 2018.
About BitINKA:
BitINKA is a Latin American blockchain exchange platform on which users can buy and sell digital currencies in more than nine different currencies from America to Europe. Founded in 2013 by Roger Gabriel, BitINKA is one of the only companies in Latin America to implement digital currency trading in which users can convert or withdraw digital currencies using fiat. BitINKA provides a platform for mainstream adoption of cryptocurrency in day-to-day finances.