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Authoritarian Airdrop: Maduro 'Gifts' Petros to Venezuelans for Christmas

Discussing new trials of an LN point-of-sale app; updates in consumer & institutional crypto derivatives, and Venezuelan petros as holiday bonuses.

Updated Sep 13, 2021, 11:50 a.m. Published Dec 16, 2019, 9:13 p.m.

If 2019 saw bitcoin come together around the digital gold/digital SoV narrative, is 2020 poised for a resurgence of the idea of payments utility, thanks to Lightning powered applications? One beta test of a LN point-of-sale app suggests maybe.

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Derivatives continue to grow as an area of focus for both retail and institutional traders, with CoinFLEX bringing in some new talent to expand its derivative competitions and institution-focused ErisX sending notice that futures trading would begin tomorrow.

Finally, Venezuela’s President Maduro has announced that public employees and pensioners will be given a holiday bonus of half a petro. Sincere effort or another example of how digital currencies can be a tool of control?

Topics for December 16, 2016

Derivatives Venezuela Lightning Network Petro Maduro ErisX Podcasts CoinFLEX The Breakdown

Nathaniel Whittemore

NLW is an independent strategy and communications consultant for leading crypto companies as well as host of The Breakdown – the fastest-growing podcast in crypto. Whittemore has been a VC with Learn Capital, was on the founding team of Change.org, and founded a program design center at his alma mater Northwestern University that helped inspire the largest donation in the school’s history.