- Japan’s The Japan Broadcasting Network has given a positive coverage of Dash in Venezuela
- The coverage was regarding Dash’s use in the country following their blackout
In many places, news regarding the cryptocurrency or blockchain space is rarely touched on as it is considered “niche” news. Even when it is, it is usually stories like the QuadrigaCx scandal and even then, it is positioned with a freak-show side-attraction narrative that ultimately puts the industry in a poor light.
There has been a glimmer of hope recently as the Japan Broadcasting Network recently covered the news of Dash’s expansion into Venezuela, the home of the Petro.
The Coverage
In its news segment, NHK touched on Venezuela’s economic crisis and its effects. Attention was given to the hyperinflation that is taking place there and their difficulty in maintaining their traditional payment systems, which has led citizens to abandon their national currency, the Bolivar, with notes literally being thrown in the street.
Instead, people are making the move to other forms of payment like the US dollar and cryptocurrency. While discussing this, footage was shown of a store with signs saying “Dash accepted here.”
This news segment would have had a wide reach as NHK is the public broadcasting system of Japan with millions of daily viewers for its 24-hour news cycle.
It is also remarkable that cryptocurrencies, and Dash, in particular, would receive positive, if not neutral coverage from a Japanese network. This is because, in 2018, Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) actively began discouraging the use of privacy Coins such as Dash, ZCash and Monero due to them being sometimes used for illicit transactions. The agency maintains a whitelist of approved currencies and privacy coins like Dash have a hard time making the cut.
Dash has gained more ground in Venezuela in the last few months because of it can be transferred through SMS. Venezuela experienced a blackout a few weeks ago which made bank transfers and internet-based payment impossible. As a result, Dash was one of the few ways by which payment was possible.
A Matter of Perception
It is no secret that the media has the power to shape how things are viewed by the public and while coverage of the QuadrigaCx story invited viewers to essentially laugh at the crypto community, this sort of coverage shows crypto as a legitimate form of payment.
