The National Superintendency of Securities of Venezuela has authorized the operation of a decentralized (DeFi) electronic exchange known as BDVE. This pilot program is being touted as the “world’s first decentralized stock exchange.”
This project from Venezuela is a DeFi project on the Ethereum network that will be tested in the next 90 days. Users will be able to buy tokenized assets and ERC20 tokens on the exchange.
Leveraging on DeFi for stocks and derivatives
This announcement was published on the 29th of September in the Official Gazette number 6,578. The document mentions that the platform will serve the primary, secondary, and derivatives markets (options and futures). In addition, it will carry out public offerings for securities, negotiations, transfers, custody processes, and settlements. The platform would also be able to work on multiple smart contracts.
“This platform allows the security custody process to be individual, shielded and public. There is also a trading system available 24 hours a day and 7 days a week that guarantees transparency, security, speed, reliability, traceability, and lower cost of operations,” mentions the Official Gazette.
The information was also disclosed Tuesday night by Manuel Aaron Fajardo García, who serves as the main manager of the new digital exchange. Through a live broadcast from his Instagram account, he indicated that the project has been undergoing set up “for months.” However, the development of the project was kept secret and unknown to the public.
In relation to commissions or fees, the exchange’s website indicates that it will be 0% for fiat money sales operations. Also, it would be 0.1% for sales operations carried out through “alternative digital assets.”
DeFi stock market can aid finance for multiple sectors
Another aspect that Manuel Aaron Fajardo García highlighted is that the decentralized stock market can serve as a source of financing for multiple sectors in Venezuela. The reason is that the new entity does not depend on the national financial system.
When reviewing the operations manual of the electronic stock exchange, it is observed that it is a DeFi project (decentralized finance) that works with smart contracts and multiple tokens on the Ethereum network.
It should be noted that you have to be a citizen of Venezuela in order to use the BDVE app. Also, there is discussion on how decentralized the exchange can actually be as it is controlled by the socialist government of Venezuela.
According to local reports, other financial projects have been approved in Venezuela. Among them, the Interbanex system stands out, a short-functioning virtual currency market that was authorized by the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) in January 2019.
The Venezuelan economy is still in shambles. The policies dictated by the socialist government has led to massive shortages in food, medical supplies, and fuel. A number of citizens turned to Bitcoin mining in order to survive, but the government has made it mandatory for miners to have a license and all mining operations are carried out via a national mining pool. Hence, the government controls payouts, not to mention the importation of all crypto mining equipment.
One program, Bitcoin for Venezuela, has been providing food to hungry families by soliciting Bitcoin donations from around the world.
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