Crypto assets are facing a number of challenges in Cuba despite growing adoption. Many Cuban citizens are using cryptocurrencies to circumvent economic sanctions imposed by the United States and access the global marketplace.
According to Alex Sobrino, the founder of CubaCripto, a crypto community group of 600 members and considered to be among the first crypto-oriented online communities in Cuba, estimates that 10,000 Cuban are using cryptocurrencies regularly to buy online goods, mobile balance, to make hotel reservations, and also using it for trading and investment purposes.
According to CubaCripto, some users are also using digital assets to store value. They are saying that because of privacy benefits of cryptocurrencies, they financial activities are less likely to be traced by the local government.
But using cryptocurrencies in the country is not easy to use as it seems. Cuban citizens do not have access to many cryptocurrency exchanges. According to a Mosaic report, there are only 19 of 44 cryptocurrency exchanges, which allowed users in certain countries to access their platform and strictly prohibit access to residents of specific regions to open an account, which makes Cuba the sixth jurisdiction more blocked by cryptocurrency exchanges.
Also, there is no local cryptocurrency exchange exists in the country which makes assessing crypto in Cuba even more difficult. According to the report, Fusyona, a company founded in 2018, claims itself the first cryptocurrency exchange in Cuba, does not offer typical order-matching services. Instead, it acts as broker between cryptocurrency buyers and individuals located outside of the country who are seeking to remit funds to Cuba, charging a fee of up to 10 percent.
Another challenge that cryptocurrencies are facing in Cuba is the non-existence of any regulatory framework to legitimize the operations of businesses operating with cryptocurrencies on the island.
To stabilize it economic condition, Cuban government is also exploring state-backed coin among other economic measures.
